The adventures of John Smith in Malaya, 1600-1605

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2008 with funding from

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofjohnOOhaleuoft

S"5

THE ADVENTURES OF

JOHN SMITH IN MALAYA

1600 — 1605

T

THE ADVENTURES OF

JOHN SMITH IN MALAYA

1600—1605

BY

A. HALE.

Late E. J. BRILL

Publishers and Printers

LEYDEN 1900

A yer sa'gantang sa'lubok,
Sa'dangkang yang ber-bimyi',
Siaraang ber-jawat-jawat,
Tompat ungka ber-dayu-dayu ;
Batin yang ampunya-nya.

CHAPTER I.

In the beginning of the year 1600, James Neccy, a merchant
and adventurer, whose house was famous in the city of
Haarlem in Holland, obtained a charter from the States
General which empowered him to trade in the Eastern seas, and
at the same time to further Dutch interests and influence
so far as layd in his power in that region. His charter also
hinted that it would be well for him to go armed, as besides
enemies of the State, there were sea robbers in those waters.

In pursuance of his charter he laded two galleons and a
crompster (kromsteven) with assorted merchandise, and set sail.

It was his intention to get as quickly as possible to the
Malay Peninsula, stopping only at certain ports for the purpose
of taking in water and fresh provisions. If fortune favoured
him, he intended loitering about in the Straits of Malacca
and perhaps doing a little damage to the Portugals' trade
there, either as a merchant, by legitimate sharp trading, or,
seeing that he was armed, perhaps there might be some
chance of a fight at sea with some of their ships, or better still,
a richly laden galleon bringing home cloves from Amboyna,
or gold from Ophir.

His charter might, as he was privately told by the cunning
old Burgomaster of Haarlem, be very liberally interpreted ;
indeed, as the Burgomaster had himself invested no incon-
siderable sum in the venture he felt entitled to give advice,
and did not hesitate to say that perhaps the most profitable

enterprise of all would be to gather pepper, and that the
quickest harvest of that commodity would be found floating
on the seas, under the Portuguese flag. This was not perhaps
strictly moral advice, but the example set by England to
the world in the West Indies, was fresh in men's minds;
and Holland against Portugal in the East seemed an analogue
of England against Spain in the West.

After leaving the vicinity of Malacca, Jamts Neccy proposed
paying a visit to Johor, whose King had evinced a friendly
disposition towards Hollanders; thence it was his intention
to sail up the East Coast and visit Patani, another city said
to be favourable to the Dutch trade; and perhaps he would
get as far as the important kingdom of Siam itself. The
times were dangerous, and because of that, as well as the
fact that those who went down to the sea in ships, remem-
bered that they took their lives into their own hands, by
reason of their slight knowledge of far away seas, their
currents and winds, and other horrors with which the super-
stition of the times did not fail to describe them, it was
customary for everybody on board, before they set sail, to
make proper deposition of his property in the event of his
death and the prognostications were so far favourable, that
people expected one at least of the three ships that went
away to return safely to port, and to come back deeply laden
with gold ; for were they not going to that Golden Cher-
sonesus of the Ancients, whence King Solomon got his gold
to ornament the Temple? Did not peacocks also abound,
and monkeys, and the far-famed bezoar stones the medical
properties of which were greatly exercising the minds of
philosophers at that period ? All these articles took up little
space, so that one ship-load, if it got back safely, would be
a very adequate return for the three ships, laden with the
showy but inexpensive cargoes sent out.

Eggs were counted before they were hatched somewhat
in this fashion. Three shiploads of cheap trade would sell
for two cargoes of spices, and two cargoes of spices would
go to purchase one of gold and precious ware ; especially
when it was hoped that the Portugals — not only rival traders,
but State enemies — might be persuaded to contribute a fair
share of the profits.

It is this venture, or rather the adventures of one member
of the company, which will be detailed in the following
chapters.

John Smith, whose adventures are here recorded, at the
time he sailed with James Neccy, was twenty-seven years
of age, having been born — somewhat irregularly — in the
year 1573, at the village of Tregony in Cornwall, to which
place his mother had secretly retreated, when she found it
the better policy to do so.

His mother was an actress of some notoriety. Her name
does not matter for the purpose of this story, nor does that
of his father, who also was a person of some note, being
in fact a clergyman, whose preaching had caused some
considerable stir in the world of divinity, but who died at
the early age of forty-five, two years after John Smith was
born, having arranged that after his death a sum of rive
hundred pounds should be paid to a certain actress, named
in his will, in token of his appreciation of her worth and
good life.

It was a strange parentage and well calculated to produce
an unorthodox child. Up to the time of the death of the
mother, who was twenty-four years old when her son was
born, and who lived for nearly fifty years after, it was not
known that she had had a child before her marriage with
a rich London merchant, when she was thirty years old.
She had two other sons after her marriage, but she carried

the secret of her first-born to the grave with her, and even
her husband, who died twenty years before her, had never
learnt it.

But when she was buried in the church-yard of Saint
Mary-le-Strand, followed to the grave by her two legitimate
sons, both prosperous merchants of the city of London, there
stood by the grave-side also a third gentleman, who wore a
mourning knot of black ribbon on the guard of his sword,
and who seemed — equally with her to sons — affected by
the ceremony. Nobody knew the stranger, and when the
brothers approached him when all was over and asked him
why he wore mourning, he appointed to meet them at a
later date, at a certain house near the village of Teddington.
and there, a week later, he explained his relationship to
them, producing such documentary evidence, in the shape
of letters from his mother — who had always managed to
keep in touch with her first child during his wanderings —
that his half-brothers were convinced of the truth of his
allegations, the more so perhaps when John Smith showed
them his actual, authentic will, and desired them to take
possession of and act on it, when they had proof of his
death.

This will, if the schedule of the properties dealt with was
true, greatly surprised the brothers, especially when John
Smith explained that it did not deal with more than half
of his property. The other moiety, he told them, he had
already disposed of by gift, to certain connections of his own
in the East, not however, mentioning what those connections
were. Some very valuable items were mentioned in the will,
amongst them being a tin mine in Cornwall, where was also
an estate estimated to contain over one thousand acres, and
besides these a very considerable sum of money was said
to be deposited at a low rate of interest with a London

I

5

house of well-known fame for honest deaHngs. John Smith
promised to travel to Cornwall and introduce his half-brothers
to his agents and men of business there, as well as to the
head of the house which held his moneys in London.

All this he did in due course, when the staid City merchants
were considerably astonished at beholding the evidences of
such great wealth. It appeared that the money deposited in
London was all profits made on the tin mine in Cornwall, wich
was a very valuable business, worked somewhat dififerently from
other mines in the vicinity. The Captain of the mine was a
very bluff sailorlike old man, showing in his general bearing
unbounded respect and affection for his master, who introduced
his half-brothers to him as his heirs.

The estate John Smith explained, was of no very particular
value at present, he had purchased it for sentimental reasons
chiefly; and he pointed out to his half-brothers the cottage
in which he was born, which was in the charge of a very
old woman, who addressed him as her foster-son. He told
them that all his life, whenever he returned to England from
the East, he had always managed to meet his mother here.
This explained to the brothers certain mysterious journeys
of their mother, which they had noticed.

Their half-brother also told them that he had otherwise
liberally provided for all his dependants in England; but he
strongly advised them to keep the tin mine in work, with
the same staff of men, and on the same system as at present.
Moreover, the Captain of the mine, as well as his son, a
darkskinned, strong-looking man about thirty years of age,
when they understood the position, readily agreed to work
for the two City men, as faithfully as they had done for
their own master.

After spending three days in their company in Cornwall,
John Smith took an affectionate farewell of his brothers.

whom he said he had often before seen, and of whom he
had often spoken with his mother. He said that he was about
to sail once more from the port of Bristol to the East, whence
it was most probable he would never return ; but he promised
to communicate with them as often as opportunity offered,
and especially to let them have certain knowledge of his
death, whenever it occurred.

Three years afterwards, the brothers heard of his death,
and took possession of their inheritance, wich was richly
augmented by a packet brought to them by a sea captain.
This packet, which the captain said he knew was worth a
king's ransom, was found to contain a bonanza, consisting
of a very beautiful collection of emeralds, rubies and pearls,
set in Eastern gold. It contained also a certificate of the
death of John Smith, signed by the captains of two well-known
merchantmen trading to the East, and sealed with the great
seal of the Queen of Patani, under some Arabic writing,
which, on translation, proved to be a panegyric, and a
lamentation of the Great Queen of Patani on the death of
her adopted son, John Smith.

The package also contained a last letter, written by John
Smith to his half brothers, in which he said he was at that
time aware of the fact that he was peaceably and quietly
dying in the city of Patani. He had arranged for a certificate
of his death to be delivered to them, and begged their
acceptance, as a last souvenir, of the ornaments, which would
be delivered to them, and which, he said, would give them
some idea of the East. He sent them also an account of his
life and travels, feeling sure that they would read with
interest a true setting-forth of the wonders of the East,
which, he said, had been to him a never-ending exposition
of the wondrous GOD IN NATURE,

He declared that now, at the ending of his life, he was
convinced that all creeds and systems of religion were narrow
and the work of men. Some were more instinct with good
than others, and nearly all of them were of use in leading
the human race to conduct their lives in accordance with
certain laws, wich were necessary for the well-being of the
human animal. He professed to find good in the Koran of
the Arabians, equally with the Bible of the Christians. He
commended to his half-brothers the precepts of Lao-tsze and
Confucius, equally with the doctrines of Zoroaster and the
Buddha; "but before all", wrote he, "realize that the whole
Universe is GOD; worship him not only as in Heaven, or
as present when a congregation meets in a church, but
consider rather that your own individual bodies and souls,
equally with every particle of matter, animate or inanimate,
every thought engendered in your brain, and every aspiration
of every living thing, is GOD, and GOD is it; and then
shall you find reason for worship, and the observance of
moral and necessary laws and rules of life."

With these words John Smith concluded his last letter to
his half-brothers. It is, however, from the leaves of his
journals and writings, enclosed in the packet sent to them,
that the following chapters have been taken.

It has been thought inexpedient to reproduce the old-
fashioned phraseology of the journals and essays, and also
it hat not seemed as if the tale could be so well told in
the first person as in the original, for the same cogent reasons.
It may also be said at once that the name John Smith, is
not that which was signed at the bottom of the letter and
mentioned in the certificate of death.

CHAPTER 11.

The trading expedition, commanded, and in a great measure
owned, by James Neccy, sailed from the port of Haarlem in
the Low Country, in February of the year 1600. It consisted
of the two galleons, named respectively JoHANiS DE Hakluyt
and Jacobus de Halle, with the crompster called Peter
ASMODEUS, and was under the supreme command of James
Neccy as Admiral.

The English East India Company had just been started,
with the avowed intention of spoiling the Portuguese trade
in the East, which had indeed been now absorbed to a great
extent by the Spaniards, in consequence of the amalgamation
of the two states about twenty years previously.

James Neccy had been urged to combine with other Dutch
merchants and form a company, to rival the English one,
but had not been persuaded, although he foresaw that such
a combination would be necessary, if a share of the trade
was to be retained by the Hollanders; but at that time he
considered himself strong enough to hold his own, and was
astute enough also to perceive that if he had a successful
voyage this time, he would be in a much better position,
after the lapse of two or three years, to join any company
which might have been formed ; and in point of fact, the
Dutch East India Company, when it was started in 1603,
reserved a seat on the Directorate for him, and this he
occupied on his return from the East.

The JOHANis DE Hakluyt carried the Admiral's house

lag, bearing his warlike crest — for James Neccy came of good
blood and an adventurous race. His crest was a mailed arm
and hand holding a cross-bow elevated. His motto was an
English one, for he was of Saxon-English descent. It seemed
to refer to a trading spirit amongst his ancestors, although
it might have had to do with the prowess of some leader
in a fight, whose mailed fist was found to be heavy, for it
consisted of the two words "Good weight."

The JOHANIS carried a crew of one hundred men, under
the immediate command of old Christian Lentholm, a Norwe-
gian, who had all his life worked for the house of Neccy,
gradually making his way upwards in the knowledge of
seacraft, as well as in the confidence of the chiefs of the
house, until he was considered not only the most expert
sailing master in Holland, but almost the most travelled man
of those parts. He was now making his third voyage to the
East Indies. His crew, as well as the crews of the other
ships, were carefully selected men, none under thirty years
of age, and of many different nationalities. In the selection
care was taken to procure those who had a good knowledge
of the use of weapons of war, especially firearms; in fact a
large majority of them had at one time or another served
on ships of war, of the different European states.

The master gunner was a Frenchman, Lewes de Havre he
was called. Twenty men of the crew of the JOHANIS were
to be under his immediate command as gunners, if chance
should require their services in a fight, and he was very
eager to pick out the most likely men to work his guns, as
soon as the crew was mustered before the start.

The other officer who shared the Admiral's saloon in the
poop, was John Smith, the chief super-cargo of the venture.
John Smith had already made one voyage to the East with
old Christian Lentholm, reaching as far as Java, and touching

10

at Pegu, Johor, and some ports in Sumatra and the islands.
He had taken pains to acquire some knowledge of the Malayan
language, the "lingua franca" of those seas, and of the trading
customs of the natives. He had since his sixteenth year worked
for the house of Neccy, where his mother had placed him;
and as every man employed by that prosperous house, in
whatever capacity, was paid according to the profits made,
rather than a regular salary, he had already managed to get
together a considerable sum, which he had loyally invested
in the venture.

But besides this, his mother who had called him to England
to see her before he started on this voyage, had put into
his hands about a thousand pounds, telling him that it was
his patrimony, and at the same time had explained to him
the history of his birth. It appeared that his father, before
he died, invested seven hundred pounds in his name, without
stating the connection between them, and appointed his
mother his guardian or trustee, with power to pay over the
capital and profits to him at her own discretion, when she
considered he would most require it.

This was a most delightful surprise to the young man, who
unfolded to his mother a plan which he had been considering
for some time, which was to leave the house of Neccy and
travel about the East and trade on his own account. His
affectionate mother, whilst deploring the long separation
which this would entail, could not combat her son's resolution,
which, considering his birth and up-rearing, was most evidently
the best path in life for him.

With his mother's consent, he told his Master and Admiral
what he wished to do. No objection was raised against his
disire, on his agreeing not to leave the expedition, until the
fleet had passed the end of the Malay Peninsula and sailed
up the East coast. Then, he decided, he would leave the

m

II

ships at the most convenient port and start on his own

rticular venture, entrusting his share of the main enterprise
o his Admiral.

John Smith was at this time a healthy young man, well
educated in all the wiles of commercial dealings, but with
a strain of romance in him, and also a great liking for
philosophical studies. He had read much, especially the
doctrines of ancient teachers of all countries, and was profoundly
imbued with a spirit of moral analysis. He was, besides, an
expert man-at-arms, very clever with the Spanish rapier and
dagger, with which weapons he was almost invulnerable,
having trained himself in combats against opponents armed
with other and unusual weapons, such as javelins, halberts,
clubs, axes and the -like. He had also a fair knowledge of
the simple chemistry and surgery of the times. Thus equipped,
it seemed as if he had a very fair chance to hold his own
in an adventurous life with a savage people, and this — as
has already been shown — well proved to be the case. As
to his work for the house of Neccy, the present trust reposed
in him showed the estimation in which he was held.

He was represented in each of the other ships of the
expedition by an assistant supercargo, and he also had an
assistant on the JoHANis, who, when he left the ship, was
to take his place as chief supercargo.

The Jacobus was as nearly as possible a counterpart of
the JOHANIS. She was commanded by a Fleming.

The crompster PETER ASMODEUS was equipped with a
crew of seventy men, under the command of Paul Keyut,
a true Dutchman of the sturdiest type, who had commenced
life under the auspices of Neccy as a Northsea pilot. The
Jacobus had twenty gunners and the PETER AsMODEUS
fifteen, each company under the command of a master gunner.
Lewes de Havre had been entrusted with the selection, not

12

only of the officers but of the gunners as well; and he
arranged that each company, with its commander, should
spend a month on the JoHANIS, under his own instruction;
for it was well understood by all concerned that the time
had come when artillery would play the most important
part in any future sea-fight.

The Peter Asmodeus indeed — which by reason of her
lighter draught and superior sailing powers was destined to
act as scout and tender to the heavier ships — carried
amidships, elevated on a raised platform, a very unusual
and expensive weapon, in the shape of long, bronze pivot
gun, which would throw a ball, albeit of a small size, three
times as far as an ordinary culverin. This gun had, after
great persuasion on the part of Lewes de Havre, been only
lately added to the armament of the house of Neccy and
had been cast and carefully tested under the master gunner's
own eyes, at great cost and after many spoilt castings. It
was composed of an amalgam, very carefully mixed after
many consultations between John Smith and Lewes, the
former of whom had made a study of this branch of science.
The gun was with much ceremony christened "Anna", after
a youthful daughter of James Neccy, and amongst much
fanciful ornamentation, the Neccy arms appeared on the
breech of the gun, with a quaint legend just behind the
touch-hole which might be freely translated into Enghsh
as follows;

"Anna goes out to trade.

Her heavy cost is paid.
Her shot "Good weight" are made.

Her foes shall all be laid".

This unique gun was the especial charge of a young
Englishman, named Rupert Saville, who had won the approval

13

of Lewes de Havre, as a good marksman and a reliable man.
The crompster was banked for six great sweeps, or oars, a
side. Besides the pivot gun, she carried eight eighteen-pounder
culverins and two five-pounder sakers, the demi-culverins,
which these ships usually carried amidships, being discarded
in favour of the pivot gun. The two galleons each carried
sixteen culverins, sixteen demi-culverins, and eight sakers

CHAPTER III.

John Smith's writings do not contain very full accounts
of the voyage down the west coast of Africa, the only incident
of which appears to have been a little fight with a Portuguese
carrack, which was ultimately driven into the mouth of the
Zaire river, badly damaged ; but which, before her collapse
and escape to the protection of the fort, succeeded in so
badly mauling the JOHANIS, that for some time it was seriously
thought it would be necessary to abandon her, she having
been hit several times below the water line. The lower holds
filled so fast with water that the pumps could not keep it
under, but ultimately the old Dutch boatswain, an expert
diver, succeeded in partially stopping the leaks by caulking
them from the outside with oakum, so that the shipwright
and his carpenters could get at the damage from the inside.
But it was evident to everybody that the repairs could only
be considered as good enough to take them on for a week
or two. The Admiral therefore decided that it would be
necessary to seek the mouth of some other river with all
speed, so that the ship could be properly careened and put
into good fettle again.

The fight would have undoubtedly gone better for the
Hollanders if the Peter Asmodeus had not been sent away
two days previously on a scouting and exploring expedition
down the coast, with instructions to await the other ships
at the mouth of the Quanza, a well-known place of call for

15

ships sailing south, and one where good water could be
obtained.

The JOHANIS was thus badly damaged by the first discharge
from the Portuguese carrack, a much larger ship and carrying
many more guns. She had attacked the Dutch ships, evidently
supposing them to be merchants of the usual type, which,
whilst they were always armed, were not generally so well
equipped as James Neccy had wisely decided his ships should
be for this expedition. Without doubt the Portuguese captain
thought to obtain an easy victory, especially as he was not
far from the strongly fortified port at the mouth of the
Zaire, whence he might hope for assistance in an emergency,
and to which he could always make for refuge. He was,
however, taught a severe lesson, as he barely escaped into
harbour, and even then did not save his ship.

It was the better marksmanship of Lewes de Havre's
gunners, and the excellent spirit of both crews under James
Neccy's command, which assured to them the victory; and
indeed the Admiral was vehemently urged by his ship's
companies to allow the Portugals to be followed into harbour
and finished off under the guns of the fort; but James Neccy
said, "No! we are traders, not fighters. As this arrogant
Portugal attacked me, I was obliged to fight; but now it
behoves us to meet our consort with all speed, and find a
convenient place where we may repair our damages."

This was so evidently the proper course to take, and it
was also very apparent that more hard knocks than profit
would be the result of following their enemy into port, under
the guns of the fort, that it was at once adopted ; so sail
was trimmed, and the two vessels made off as well as they
were able on the course taken by the PETER ASMODEUS
two days before.

Except for the damage done to the JOHANlS, they had

i6

suffered but very little loss, two men killed and ten more
or less wounded on both ships. The Portugals had evidently
suffered much more severely, for wen the JOHANIS and the
Jacobus had succeeded in getting into place on either side
of the great carrack, the superior training of Lewes' gunners
got a chance, and nearly every discharge told, so that the
upper deck of the carrack was seen to be crowded with
dead and wounded. Moreover, the master gunner had ventured
on an experiment, which he had long wished to try in
warfare; he had fired some red-hot balls into the Portugal;
and as they escaped, the result was seen to have been
effective, for she burst into flames before she got into harbour.
But the experiment was not quite successful, for after a cold
shot had been rammed home in the first gun, and the gunner
was pushing down the red-hot shot on the top of it, the
charge ignited before the shot was rammed home, bursting
the gun and wounding three men severely, one of whom
died within an hour.

It was John Smith who surmised that some gunpowder
had been left in the tube of the gun, and had ignited when
the red-hot shot was introduced, thus setting fire to the
charge prematurely; and it was he who showed that this
might be obviated, if the charge of powder was secured by
double wadding and the tube carefully cleaned out with a
damp mop, before the cold and then the hot shot were
introduced. He volunteered to load the next gun himself,
and Lewes de Havre, not to be outdone, offered to assist
him. The opperation was successfully carried out, and several
red-hot shots were fired into the enemy, without further
damage, except to the Portugals.

It was eight days before the PETER ASMODEUS was found
anchored at the mouth of the Quanza river. Her Master
had, on his first arrival, taken her some miles up the river and

found good water. He had also ascertained that there would
be no difficulty about the larger vessels ascending as high,
if not higher, than he had done. He had not seen any place
fit to careen the JOHANIS so far as he had gone, but he
had no doubt that such a place could be found if search was
made for it. He had been obliged to return, because his
men had been frightened by the strange and unearthly
noises heard in the forest proceeding apparently from a
group of small hills, about two miles from the riverbank.
It seemed as if a party of giants were calling to one another,
from hill-top to hill-top, although the roaring certainly might
have proceded from a troupe of lions, which were known
to inhabit these parts, or perhaps from some other wild
beasts which had not yet been heard of in Europe; for as
in the time of the Roman Emperors, strange and unheard
of things still came out of Africa.

Old Paul Keyut was of opinion that the noises were of
human agency, although so far nothing in the shape of a
human being had been seen ; but when his crew understood
that their commander held this opinion, they were only the
more afraid and talked of giants, agreeing however, that as
soon as the other ships arrived, they would willingly go
and fight whatever was to be fought, were they giants or
the very Sathanus himself, backed up with all his infernal
hosts. This suited Master Paul very well, for he had made
up his mind to do some trading with the natives, if they
possessed anything worth having; and moreover he was
obliged to move down the river again to meet his consorts,
which, as has already been stated, he did.

It was quickly decided that all three vessels should move
up the river with the tides, as far as possible, until a good
place to careen had been found, and if circumstances seemed
favourable, to overhaul all three ships, and in the meanwhile

to examine the country with a view to getting into touch
with the natives, and trading with them if they had anything
worth buying.

It took the Httle fleet four days to get far enough up the
river, before a proper place to careen was discovered. They
drifted up with the tide for the most part, for there was
but little wind to assist them, and what there was, was to
a very great extent, owing to the high forests and the
eccentric turns of the river, not very favourable to them.
But the delays were not wasted, as during the times they
were riding at anchor, when the tide was flowing out,
opportunity was taken to explore the country on either bank
of the river. For the first three days they were passing
through dense swampy forest, which was very difiicult to
penetrate, and except on the second day, when they passed
the point where the PETER ASMODEUS had stopped, no signs
of humanity were met with. Here they heard the noises which
had frightened their consort, but the Admiral would not
allow them to go inland to investigate, wisely deciding that
no delay must be risked until a careening place had been
found, but promising that, when he had discovered how
much damage had been sustained, he would allow a party
to try and discover if there were any natives, and to endeavour
to trade with them.

It took all hands more than a week to lighten the JOHANIS,
by taking out her guns, top-masts, sails and other gear,
before she could be dragged up onto a sandspit, which was
covered by only a foot of water at low tide, but which was
over six feet deep when the tide was in.

Advantage was taken of a full tide, and by the help of cables
and blocks attached to the huge forest trees, she was hauled
up as far as possible, and then shored up with props, which
had been previously prepared from saplings cut in the forest.

19

This having been accomplished, everybody waited patiently
for the out-going tide, in order that an examination of her
hurts might be made. It was found that two strakes of her
sheathing were so damaged and splintered that there seemed
no alternative but to replace them by new ones also, the
forecastle was very much knocked about, and a shot had
pierced the fore-mast close to its foot, so that this timber
also hat to be replaced. In addition to this, general repairs
were necessary all over the ship, as it was evident that she
would not stand any very great strain of wind or sea.

When these serious damages were realised, considerable
consternation was expressed, as it was quickly understood
that some time must elapse before timbers could be obtained
which were sufficiently well seasoned to use for the repairs
necessary.

A general meeting of all the crews was called; for James
Neccy, recognising, as he always did, that all were share-
holders in the enterprise, considered that each individual
should have a chance of expressing his opinion. There seemed
to be four alternatives. First, for the two ships to proceed
with the voyage, dividing the crew of the JOHANIS between
them, and sacrificing the least valuable part of the cargo
of the three ships to make room for the excess and the
extra men, and leaving the JOHANis to her fate. Secondly,
to patch up the JOHANiS sufficiently to take her back to
Holland for repairs. Thirdly, to leave her crew where she
lay, and for her crew to repair her properly there; the other
two ships meanwhile to continue their voyage, and the
JoHANiS to follow them, or return home, at their discretion
when she was in good order. Or fourthly, for all the fleet
to remain in the river until she was in order again, and
then to proceed all together with the voyage. The last of
these alternatives was adopted, with a very few dissentient

votes, and was approved of by the Admiral; for even if six
months had to be spent in this river, there seemed no
especial reason to regret it, as food, in the shape of fish
and fowl at any rate, was abundant, good water was handy,
and moreover the spirit of adventure was strong amongst
the crews, who were anxious to explore the country and
get into touch with the natives, anticipating strange discoveries
and, perhaps, profitable trade.

John Smith was especially delighted with this decision,
for he had read of enormous river-horses and wingless birds,
giants and pigmies, anthropophagi, and wild, hairy men who
lived in trees; he therefore hoped for much profitable explo-
ration and a great fund of information to be acquired, to say
nothing of a chance to verify or refute what he had read
in books.

He was convinced that the noises heard down the river
were due to human agency, and that somewhere in the
forest near at hand there were not a few natives, because
as he was exploring the country with Lewes de Havre, about
a mile inland from the right bank of the river, in the direc-
tion of the hills from which the noises proceeded, they had
discovered what was evidently the remains of a large camping
place in an open space. Here they had counted over a dozen
heaps of ashes and charred brands, and had noticed some
very large bones lying about, which they thought must have
originally belonged to elephants; but it was evident that
the camp had been deserted for some weeks, as already the
coarse grass was springing up through the ashes a foot high.
What was also very significant was the discovery of two
human skulls. They told nobody except the Admiral of
their discovery, and for fear of alarming the men, it was
agreed to keep the matter secret; but James Neccy gave
strict orders that no party of less than twenty men was to

21

go into the forest out of sight of the ships, and that no
straggHng was to be allowed, alleging as a reason the danger
from wild animals.

The JOHANIS having been hauled up as high as she could
be got, and strongly shored up, it was found possible for
the shipwrights to work on her damaged side, and nothing
was now wanted but timber properly seasoned. But first all
hands were set to work to build a stockade and clear a
space round it, for the better protection of the ships and
also for a store-house for the material taken out of the
JOHANIS. It took nearly all the available force of the three
crews about a month to finish this to the satisfaction of the
Admiral; but when it was completed the position was clearly
a very strong one.

About one hundred acres were cleared round the fort and
opposite the ships, which were moored as close to the shore
as they could ride at anchor without touching bottom at
low tide, the Peter Asmodeus lying about two hundred
yards up stream from the sand-spit on which the JoHANiS
was moored, and the JACOBUS about the same distance down
stream. The fort was about one hundred yards inland from
the JOHANIS, on a rising bank. The PETER ASMODEUS and
the Jacobus were further protected in the river by booms
constructed of very light timber about a foot in diameter,
joined together by iron links and staples, and armed with
rows of iron spikes. These booms would be very difficult
for naked savages to surmount, nor could canoes get by
them, because, being very buoyant, they rolled easily in the
water, and as they rolled still presented a fresh row of sharp
spikes to any one trying to climb over them. The fort was
more properly speaking a stockade. It was constructed of
strong palisadoes set in the ground and forming a square
twenty yards each way, the fence standing twelve feet out

22

of the ground and being provided with a banquette all round
the inside four feet high, on which were mounted the guns
taken out of the JOHANIS. A garrison of twenty men under
Lewes de Havre was to occupy this structure. For their
accommodation and for the protection of the stores taken
out of the JOHANIS, a warehouse roofed with palm leaves
was built in the centre. Good water was supplied by a small
stream running down the sloping ground close to the fort,
and it was also found that water was easily obtainable by
digging wells six feet deep near the edge of the river, and
one was dug in the stockade itself.

During the time these preparations were being made, indeed
as soon as it was discovered that good timber would be
required for the repairs of the JOHANiS, a party, consisting
of the chief shipwright and his assistant carpenters, with ten
armed men as escort, had been organised under the command
of John Smith, to search the forest for three or four miles
inland for good and suitable trees, out of which the timber
required could be cut. Every day different samples of timber
v^ere brought in by this party, planks and baulks of suitable
size being split out of the trees and adzed into suitable
shape. These planks and baulks were carefully laid out where
they would dry in the sun, so that they should be well
seasoned; and the sorts which after careful examination
proved to be the best for the purpose, were chosen for the
work of repair. It was considered that no timber would be
suitable until it had been drying for at least three months,
either for the strakes required or for the masts.

This party had very soon discovered signs of humanity
in the forest, they found recently-used camping places, and
after the first fortnight they had caught glimpses of black
savages flitting about amongst the trees, evidently watching
the working party. As days went on, these shy watchers

23

became more numerous and less afraid of the new arrivals
in their forest though John Smith's workmen, as the savages
became more daring, got to be somewhat nervous, and it
was only by placing his men in a cordon round the carpenters
when they were engaged on a special tree, and carefully
guarding them on their journeys to and from the ships, that
they could be persuaded to continue the necessary work,
for bows and arrows had been seen in the hands of the
savages, and the woodcutters, having heard of poisoned darts,
did not relish working with their backs to an unknown danger.

They did all they could, inviting and beckoning the savages
in the most enticing way to come forward, but without avail,
for the most they could ever see of them was a black head
on a black torso, or perhaps a naked arm and hand grasping
a bow elevated on high as the savage owner made his way
trough the dense undergrowth of the forest in retreat, when
they advanced in his direction.

At last, acting on the advice of James Neccy, they used
to make a practice of leaving small articles, such as strips
of brightcoloured cloth, glass beads or buttons, on the stump
of any tree which had been felled during the day. Invariably
these articles disappeared by the next morning, but no other
notice was taken of the presents. As yet, by the Admiral's
orders, no gun had been fired, as he considered it unad-
visable to frighten the savages by any display of that sort,
although it probably would be no new thing to them, as the
Portugals, who had been for some time established on the
coast, had certainly used firearms, and had probably even
killed some of the natives, for they were wellknown to be
cruel and unscrupulous in their dealings with them.

There had been no dearth of fresh food, for the rivers
abounded in fine fish of many sorts, while some forest fruits
had been carefully and gradually tasted and had been found

24

excellent eating. A palmnut especially, about the size of a
small walnut with a very hard shell, was found to be full
of oil and most useful in cooking.

During the night time the forest was alive with noises of
wild beasts, but nothing was ever seen in the day, except
crocodiles in the river and a few monkeys and birds in the
high trees.

CHAPTER IV.

It was many weeks before John Smith was able to persuade
the natives to come near him. It was considered better to
let them have as much time as they wanted to make up
their minds, and to show as Httle anxiety for intercourse
with them as possible. This policy bore excellent fruit. The
first intimation of a desire to come to closer relations on the
part of the savages was the finding one morning of a large
basket full of manioc root, placed on the tree stump where the
evening before a string of bright-coloured beads had been left.
The manioc was known to several of the men, ast they had
eaten it before on the African coast, and they considered
it a most excellent article of food. After this something was
found on the tree stumps every morning, in exchange for
the valueless but showy articles placed there.

John Smith hit on a plan to make this system of barter
more useful, one evening he left an unusually large quantity
of articles on the tree stump where his party had been
working, and the next morning he found in exchange a
much larger supply of fruit and vegetables. On that evening
he left nothing, and the following morning nothing was left
by the savages. It was thus proved that a trading spirit was
rife amongst them, and after a few days he was able to
improve on the system. He was certain that the working
party was closely watched by the savages, who were now
often seen flitting about amongst the trees and, from the
fort, even on the edge of the large clearing.

26

One evening, after work was finished, he mounted the
stump of the last tree cut down, and .turning to the four
points of the compass, by gesticulation and shouting invited
the attention of any savages who might be in the vicinity.
He then held up in his hands a dead fowl, which he had
brought from the ship for the purpose, and pretending he
was very hungry, he went through a pantomime of plucking,
cooking and eating the chicken in a great hurry; but suddenly
he cut it short, as if he remenbered his mates who were
also hungry on board the ships; so he called his men around
him and they all at his suggestion made a great hubbub,
at which John Smith showed them the fowl. They then
shouted for joy, as if at the sight of food greatly longed
for. After this he ostentatiously displayed a woodman's axe
and a small hatchet, which he flourished over his head and
then stuck into the tree stump and left them there ; the
whole party thereafter marching home to the stockade, with
the fowl borne before them in triumph on a pole.

Although during the whole of this little theatrical display not
a single savage was seen to be on the watch, it was quite
evident the next morning that it had not only been observed,
but also well understood, as it had been intended, namely,
to intimate that the white men would be glad of a change
of diet, and could eat animal as well as vegetable food ;
for on their arrival to start work, their larder was found to
be well supplied, two large hogs of a most uncouth appearance,
a fine ape and about a dozen birds, chiefly pigeons, being
found deposited by the tree stump, — a very adequate
return for the axe and hatchet.

After this, animal food was always abundantly provided,
but at some of the strange beasts the men took exception.
At first some were squeamish about eating monkey, but soon
it was found to be most excellent. Nobody could, however,

27

be persuaded to eat the snakes and large lizard-like animals
which were displayed sometimes as if they were more
desirable than other animals. But absolute fright was the
result of finding one morning the enormous head of what
was recognised by John Smith as a river-horse or hippopo-
tamus, set up on a tree stump with the mouth propped
wide open and a human child's head, evidently freshly
severed from the body, placed inside the enormous jaws.

The child's head they left on the tree stump, but that of
the hippopotamus was carried back to the fort. The teeth
were very large, and this was considered to be the first
legitimate trading transaction with the people. They hoped,
however, that now they would be able to induce them to
bring in elephants' tusks.

The next evening, having had the teeth knocked out of
the hippo's skull, John Smith exposed them from the top
of a tree stump, and also a large drawing of an elephant
with enormous tusks which he had prepared, and which he
left behind with another axe and hatchet, but the next
morning matters were forwarded in an unexpected way; for
on arriving at the place, the axe, hatchet and drawing were
still where they were left, and at first sight they thought
the place had not been visited, but on searching the ground
in the neighbourhood, at a distance of about twenty yards
from the tree, the party was struck with astonishment at
seeing two little black children, as they appeared to be,
standing securely bound to stakes with cords made of twisted
woody creepers. As soon as the sailors had gathered round
these two strangelooking creatures and had discovered that
they were actually a full-grown man and woman, although
less than four feet in height, they heard a discordant shout
from the edge of the clearing, and saw a naked savage
gesticulating, and flourishing on high something which one

28

of the sailors recognised as a flask, which he had left behind
the day before, nearly full of schnapps. The savage seeing
•that he had drawn their attention to himself, proceeded to
explain his wants after John Smith's own style; first he
pretended to take a drink from the flask, then he grinned
and rubbed his abdomen, and in this way expressed great
satisfaction. He then took another drink, after which he fell
to dancing and shouting; a third, and his actions portrayed
an advanced stage of drunkenness by grotesque antics and
staggering; a fourth, and he incontinently tumbled over and
apparently slept the heavy sleep of drunken unconsciousness.
But his unconscious fit did not last long; he had more
playacting to do, and shewed himself an adept pupil of the
white man; for after a few minutes he jumped up, rubbed
his evidently sore head for a little while and then went on
with his mummery. He pointed to the flask, then to the
two poor creatures tied to the stakes, and turning to the
stakes, and turning to the forest he shouted out what was
apparently an order to somebody, for after a short interval
another tall savage appeared, leading six little men and
women similar to the two tied to the stakes. These were
arranged in a line facing the white men. They were tied
together by a long rope, with a loop round each neck.
The playactor then went on to explain his desire: he elevated
the flask, brought it down to opposite his breast, and then
started off as is to take it to the forest, his companion in
the meantime, detaching the first little man from the string,
advanced a few paces and tied him up to a tree. Then the
first savage returned from the forest, and exposing the
flask as before, took it back to the forest, and his companion
brought forward another slave. This pantomime was repeated,
until all six of the dwarfs had been brought forward and
tied to the stakes. Then the two tall savages untied them

29

all again, readjusted them to the long rope, and with them
disappeared into the forest. There was no mistaking what
was meant by this elaborate little comedy; the natives were
indifferent to any form of trading, except that which would
give them the especially good drink which they had acquired
by accident; and this they were willing to buy at the rate
of a slave for a flask. Slaves acquired at this rate would
be cheap enough certainly, but it did not seem a very moral
sort of trade to John Smith's sensitive conscience. The rest
of the party had no compunction about it, and urged that
six flasks of schnapps should be at once procured and
deposited ; but there were many matters to be considered,
and it was decided not to do anything until the Admiral
and the other chiefs of the expedition had been consulted.

The two dwarfs were therefore first secured by a rope
round each of their necks, the ends of which were held by
two sailors, and were then released from the stakes to which
they had been tied. They w^ere dreadfully frightened, and
taking into consideration the incident of the child's head
exposed in the jaws of the hippopotamus a few days before,
John Smith thought perhaps they imagined they were going
to be eaten by the white men, for he had heard that there
were cannibals in Africa. He therefore did all he could to
reassure them, by keeping all his company, except the two
sailors who held them, at a distance, and by off"ering them
water to drink and fruit and roasted manioc to eat, first
drinking and eating of it himself, and by applying a soot-
hing salve to their sores caused by the ropes which had
bound them. He stroked and patted their naked backs, and
ultimately succeeded in persuading them to eat and drink
and stand on their feet, and at last to walk with him to
the fort, where their arrival caused much amusement.

They were very ugly indeed, although as they were quite

30

naked it was apparent that they were very young, in fact
in the hey-day of their youth and beauty, but it was a
different sort of beauty to what the white men had been
accustomed, consisting chiefly of dwarfish stature, dirty, dark,
tan-coloured skins, very big abdomens, monkey faces and
heads of hair Hke mops ; moreover, their bodies were greatly
disfigured by scars and some wounds which were not yet
healed, evidently signs that, young as they were, their lives
had been passed in a severe struggle, perhaps against the
natural enemies of mankind in the forest, perhaps against
their own kind; in fact they did not seem very friendly
the one with the other, as they walked out of the forest
to the fort, hardly speaking to one another and when they
did speak, if talking it was, frowning and snarling much
like angry dogs. For the rest, they were naked and not
ashamed, proving that it was their natural state, as indeed
seemed to be the case with their masters, so far as could
be judged by the two men who had shewn themselves that day.

The other savages seemed to be fine, tall men, quite
naked also, and of the same dark, tan colour. They wore
necklaces and girdles of what looked like teeth and claws
of some wild animals, and their heads also appeared to be
very elaborately ornamented, the hair being made to stand
up in bunches or crests, moreover they were wearing some
of the articles deposited by the traders, such as beads and
buttons, and had strips of bright-coloured stuffs a yard long
flying from their girdles like tails.

The two captive dwarfs were critically examined by the
Admiral and his officers, who treated them kindly, offering
them various things to eat and drink and shewing them
their arms and clothes, but they were very much like animals
and very suspicious, smelling each article of food before
tasting it, and in their anxiety and suspicion of everything

3t

ofiered to them, apparently becoming a little more friendly
with each other, for they began to talk more, and ultimately
seemed to come to a mutual understanding as to their course
of action with regard to eating and drinking the strange
things offered to them.

The man first carefully smelled every article of food
offered to them and then passed it over to the woman, who
ate a little of it, apparently in great fear. After an interval,
as she experienced no ill effects, the man ate also. It was
thus seen that they were much afraid of poisons, and that
they were not in the habit of trusting their fellow-men at
all ; and the subservience of the female to the male was
also most evident, for the woman was made poison-tester
to her more powerful mate.

This kindness on the part of the Admiral and his officers
seemed likely to have serious results to the savages, for
after they had assured themselves that the food was not
poisoned, there appeared to be no limit to their appetites,
a stiff poorridge of barley meal, seasoned with small bits
of salted pork especially finding favour with them. A wooden
bowl containing about a quart was first given to them: the
woman ate a little first, and after a due interval the man
took the bowl from her and finished it, scooping it out with
his hand and filling his mouth, at first slowly, but afterwards
as fast he could, with the evident intention of leaving none for
his mate. She was therefore supplied with a second bowl,
but before she had half finished it, the man snatched it
from her and ate it all up. The large porringer in which it
was cooked was therefore ordered in, and the wooden bowls
kept supplied as fast as they were emptied, until, as John
Smith expressed it, in rather more forcible language than
is quite advisable to use here, their abdomens were distended
in a very remarkable manner, but obviously to their own

I

3^

great satisfaction and contentment. When this end had been
attained it seemed well to stop the supply of food, but the
Admiral with his own hands gave first the woman and then
the man a very small modicum of schnapps, remarking that
"the feast certainly required a doctor to assist its digestion."

The production of the flask of schnapps, similar to the
one which had been acquired by the master savages the
day before, gave unbounded delight to the dwarfs, who had
apparently seen the effects produced on their masters by
the drinking of its contents. They grinned and chattered
and strained on their neck halters towards the Admiral
until he gave them each their jorum. They sipped the
spirit and held it in their mouths so as to enjoy it longer,
rubbing their bellies and rolling their eyes in a very grotesque
manner, waiting for the spirit to have the same effect on
them as it had on their masters. But they were, to their
great disappointment, only allowed a very small dose each,
and were then led away to a corner of the chamber where
the council was sitting, and there tied to a post in such
a way that they could move a little, or lie down at their
ease to recover from their large meal. Their guards were
then dismissed, John Smith promising to watch them and
frustrate any attempt on their part to escape or do damage.

They seemed, however, to be very well contented with
their position. The man lay down flat on his back, and the
woman fell to rubbing his belly, which was very much
distended and apparently somewhat painful. In this way
they appeared to become somewhat more friendly with one
another, until, as John Smith writes, he thought it better
to procure an old sail and hang it across the corner of the
room, so that they might sleep in greater comfort and
privacy, for one of them was a woman, and from the way
in which the man dominated her, he believed that she was

t -

I

33

his wife, or at least likely to be, and their love-making
would progress more satisfactorily in secret.

Having thus properly disposed of the captives, the Admiral
and his officers proceeded to discuss the affairs of the
expedition. A large quantity of timber of different sorts
had been collected, roughly hewn to meet the requirements
of the shipwrights, and arranged in the best manner possible
for drying and seasoning; but it was evident that at least
another two months must elapse before the material would
be fit for use, and up to the present the only articles of
trade procured were some hippopotamus teeth and two slaves.
The slaves, both John Smith and old Christian Lentholm
assured the Admiral, would command a very high price
amongst the Malay kings in the Far East, or could be
judiciously used as gifts to them, in order to secure favourable
countenance; and all the officers agreed that it would be
well to procure a few more of them, if it could be done
at such a cheap rate as a flask of schnapps for each slave.
Also, they might even be made of some use, if they were
trained to service, and could perhaps be utilised to fill up
gaps in the muster roll of the expedition, for men would
certainly die and become disabled before it was over, a
contingency which no one ever lost sight of.

But this was not the sort of commerce which the expedition
had set out to engage in, and all the chief members of the
council agreed that the time had now arrived to get into
touch with the bigger race of savages who inhabited this
region, and to start a trade of some description with them.
They were evidently most willing to exchange slaves for
flasks of schnapps, but only a few slaves could be accom-
modated, and not many flasks of spirits might be spared.
It was true, as John Smith pointed out, a still could easily
be set up and some sort of spirit distilled from any grain

3

34

that might be found, or even from the manioc roots, which
would probably please the savages as well as the schnapps
made in Holland ; for it seemed evident that the enjoyment
to be got out of it by the savages was that of the drunkard
rather than of the connoisseur.

In furtherance of this, a clay furnace was at once built
and a large ship's copper set in it. A wooden dome was
made to fit it, and a worm with a water jacket was fixed
into the top. The last, about which some difficulty was at
first experienced, v/as ultimately supplied by nature, in the
form of two stalks of bamboo, one about six inches in
diameter for the water jacket, and another about two inches
for the worm, the divisions at the joints being carefully
cleaned out by the use of long-handled gouges, until two
perfect tubes were made, the larger twelve feet and the
smaller fourteen feet long. The smaller tube was then fitted
into the centre of the larger one by caps, so that a foot
of its length projected at either end. One end was next
fitted with a wooden bend, so that it could be tightly fixed
into the top of the dome, while the other was slightly
depressed so that the condensed steam could run down the
tube and escape as distilled spirit. The water jacket was
supplied by a man continually pouring cold water into a
hole at the top of the higher end, and letting it escape
through a cavity at the bottom of the lower. When ultimately
a supply of manioc was obtained, this apparatus answered
the purpose excellently. It is true the spirit obtained did not
taste good enough to induce the sailors to drink it: it was
really very nasty, but it was much appreciated by the
natives, whose palates did not require consideration, so long
as they could get drunk on it. But the story of the spirit
and its uses will be told hereafter. We left the chiefs of
the expedition consulting as to the next move to take

35

towards trading for some useful commodity with the savages.

It was decided that the best poHcy would be to ignore
them for a time, as it was evident that they wanted the
wares which the traders possessed, and that probably if
they were left alone for a little while their desire for these
wares, especially the spirit schnapps, would make them more
venturesome. In the meantime the two dwarfs were to be
treated very kindly and to be kept well fed, and after a
day or two to be shewn the power for doing damage which
the white men possessed in firearms; for up to the present,
by the Admiral's orders, not a shot had been fired, for fear
of frightening away the savages, who without doubt were
hiding in the vicinity and slyly watching everything which
took place.

By this time also many of the men suffered considerably
from calenture and a dangerous bloody flux, which weakened
them very much, especially those who had been wounded
in the fight with the Portuguese carrack. It was thought
that if the Peter Asmodeus was sent down the river with
the sick men, to lie off the mouth for a few days, the sea
breezes would assist their recovery ; and it was also desirable
to see if there were any ships near the mouth of te river,
as their late adversary might have arranged for them to be
pursued, and it was not advisable to be caught napping.
Furthermore, if the savages saw the ship go away, they
might become afraid that their visitors were leaving, and
they would get no more of the fine drink which they
craved; this desire and the risk of its non-fulfilment might
perhaps tempt them to come forward. The sick men were
therefore moved to the Peter Asmodeus, and she was
unmoored and sent down the river.

The greater part of the ships' companies were set to
work to strengthen the stockade, which as well as the

36

JOHANIS was further defended by rings of caltrops made of
split bamboo, sharpened and hardened in the fire, after a
fashion which Christian Lentholm had seen practised by
the Malays in Johor. The shipwrights meanwhile attended
to the drying of the timber, paying particular attention to
those sorts which were the least damaged by insects, "w^ite
emmets", according tho John Smith's notes, being especially
destructive, timbers of the palisades and buildings often
requiring to be renewed.

Our hero seems to have made a sort of herbarium and
so have kept leaves, flowers and fruits of each description
of timber and to have referred to them by numbers, recording
some very interesting facts about the different species. As
might have been expected, the "white emmet" comes in for
much abuse and appears to have been a thorn in the side
of everybody concerned, and some timbers by reason of
the damage done by these pests were immediately rejected,
so that at last only about five species were left, and a
working party was sent out to get a further supply of these.

Lewes de Havre took the opportunity of this time of
inaction to overhaul his artillery, to exercise his men in
handHng their weapons, and to dry some gunpowder which
had got damaged by the water during the fight. John
Smith also set his men to arrange the trade cargo, putting
up special articles in separate packages, for convenience of
barter or for presents to chiefs.

He also took great pains to exercise picked men in the
use of the Spanish rapier, arguing that, at close quarters,
a few men wearing light defensive armour would do great
damage and strike terror to the hearts of naked savages,
by reason of the unusual mode of attack and the ease with
which a good fencer evaded even longer weapons than
his own.

Then one morning Lewes and John Smith, armed with
matchlocks of heavy calibre, and accompanied by the pair
of dwarfs, each guarded by a sailor, who led them by strong
cords fastened to rings round their necks, went up the
river bank, with the intention of showing the dwarfs the
white man's power in offensive weapons. The savages had
by this time become in some degree tame, though they
had never been actually violent, seeming to accept their
position as inevitable and as a natural consequence of life,
probably being used to slavery and subjection to a superior
race; but they were still very suspicious, always tasting
their food carefully and waiting for the effects of possible
poison before eventually eating it. John Smith, noticing this,
won considerable influence over them by himself placing
their food before them every day, and eating a little from
each bowl, in order to show them that it was harmless;
and by as often as he was able staying with them and
letting them examine his clothes and weapons. He got the
woman to wear a short sailor's petticoat, and the man to
don a pair of thin breeches, to hide their nakedness. They
were proud of these garments, although they evidently did
not consider them essential from the same point of view
as their master. The woman indeed, who had the habit of
showing her affection after the manner of some apes and
other animals, was very immodest, in spite of sundry slaps
administered to her by her master for her naughtiness; but
she apparently looked on her punishment in the light of a
caress, and it was long before she could be broken of the
habit. Both the man and the woman seemed more like
half-domesticated animals than human beings, but as was
shortly to be proved, the instincts of savagery were combined
with a considerable modicum of intelligence, wich was also
inherent in them.

I

38

The party went upstream along the river bank until they
came to the edge of the clearing, where they were not
ill-pleased to see a few savages watching their advance.
These, however, quickly disappeared in the forest. At this
point a small stream joined the river. When the tide was
out this stream dwindled down to a mere trickle of water
over a wide expanse of sand, which was a favourite place
for crocodiles to bask in the sun. Several of these beasts
had been caught on baited hooks by the sailors, and John
Smith had commenced to tan their skins with a liquor
made from the bark of a tree, which seemed to be suffi-
ciently astringent.

They were lucky enough to find three large crocodiles
lying out in the sun fast asleep, with their mouths wide
open. The two slaves were brought forward and shewn the
crocodiles, at which they naturally did not evince much
surprise, crocodiles being only common objects to them.
John Smith then proceeded to explain to them by pantomime
that he would kill them by means of the weapons which
Lewes and he carried. The savages appeared to understand
what he meant, for the man picked up two sticks, which
he arranged in his hands like a bow with the arrow drawn
back to the string; then letting the arrow go, he immediately
fell down as if dead; but pointing to the gun he expressed
his disbelief in its killing powers very emphatically, showing
by his actions that the crocodiles would all run away to
the river long before the hunters could get up close to
them, thus proving that he knew nothing of the power of
the weapon to do damage from a distance. John Smith
however assured him that it would, and he and Lewes
prepared their matchlocks, agreeing both of them to aim at
one particularly large beast, in order to make sure of killing
their quarry. They fired both together at a word of command

I

39

given by one of the sailors, and werp gratified to see the
great saurian roll over and die almost immediately, while
the other two scampered down to the river.

But what they were not prepared for was a chorus of
yells and a rush, as of hundreds of people tearing through
the forest, proving that they were being watched by large
numbers of the savages, and that it behoved them to be
very careful how they exposed themselves, or went into the
forest except in sufficiently large parties.

The effect on the captive dwarfs was also very extra-
ordinary and somewhat amusing. At first they made a rush
for the forest, and if they had not been securely held by
the sailors would certainly have escaped. As it was, they
soon realised that they only hurt their necks by straining
against the collars which they wore, so they endeavoured
to reach John Smith, but the sailors held them back, and
perhaps rather rougly; at any rate the man dwarf at last
turned on the sailor who held him and stuck a small thorn
into the back of his hand, after which they both got quieter,
and when John Smith went up to them they grovelled at
his feet, embracing his legs and uttering piteous moans.

Nothing more was thought of the thorn at the time, the
man merely pulling it out, and in fact not realising that
the dwarf had intentionally stuck it into his hand, thinking
that perhaps it had been picked up whilst struggling in the
bushes. Some more men were called from the stockade, and
the crocodile was skinned and cut up, the bullets being
carefully extracted and shewn to the dwarfs, and the match-
locks reloaded in their presence, while at the same time it
was explained to them that the bullets out of the guns had
killed the crocodiles. This they easily understood, although
it seemed that they thought the guns were endowed with
hfe and killed of their own volition. In the meantime the

40

sailor who had been pricked with the thorn began to feel
shooting pains in his hand and all up his arm. He called
John Smith's attention to it, and even as he was speaking
the pain became so violent, his hand and arm swelling so
rapidly and turning black, that another sailor had to take
charge of the dwarf, who all the time stood by grinning
with satisfaction. The man explained the apparent cause of
it, mentioning that he now believed the dwarf had inten-
tionally stuck the thorn into his hand.

However it was done, it seemed certain that the hand
was badly poisoned and unless prompt and energetic measures
were taken to stop the spread of the venom through the
system, the man might die. John Smith therefore first bound
a ligature tightly round his arm, as high above his elbow
as possible, and then opened two or three veins in his arm,
scratching the skin pretty deeply wherever it had turned
black. The man was then carefully led back to the fort,
with his wounded arm hanging down so that his blood
could easily escape, and was there fomented with hot water,
his arm being poulticed with some "soveraigne herbes", of
which John Smith had a considerable stock; he was also
liberally dosed with schnapps, in order to keep him from
fainting.

It seemed advisable to the Admiral to determine if the
dwarf was responsible for this, because if he was, extra
precautions would have to be taken in guarding not only
the slaves they already had, but any others afterwards
acquired. The dwarfs were therefore brought into the room
where the poor sailor was lying, apparently nearly moribund,
on a bed place, and they endeavoured to elicit from them
how the accident occurred. There was no difficulty about
doing that, for the male dwarf immediately betrayed himself
by his evident dehght at seeing the poor man in the state

41

he was. The black imp fell to capering and grinning, pointing
to the sailor and intimating by his actions that he would
soon be dead, and then to the disgust and horror of his
audience, he commenced to smack his lips and rub his
belly, with the evident desire to intimate that he would
make a good meal.

This conduct so incensed the Admiral that he ordered
him to be taken out and hung to the branch of a tree at
once, as a warning to the other savages. But John Smith
begged him off, not certainly from a merciful desire to
save him from punishment, but he argued that if the savage
could do so much damage by merely sticking a thorn into
his enemy, it behoved them all to first investigate the
matter with a view to their own protection in the future.
As he said, it was well to find out if the critical state of
the poor sailor was due to poison or witch-craft, and if
they killed the person who inflicted the injury, they might
never find out how he did it. The Admiral agreed with
this view of the case and also suggested that the author
of it should conduct the investigation.

■

CHAPTER V.

The poor sailor had all this time been suffering great
torture of burning pains all up his arm, but not beyond
the ligature which had been applied ; nor did he lose cons-
ciousness. He urged that they should cut his arm off at
once, for he said that he was sure that it would never be
of any more use to him, and he was strongly of the opinion
that, not only by way of punishment for what he had
already done, but in order to stop him doing any more
harm, the dwarf should be burnt alive like any other wizard.
But John Smith inclined more to the opinion that the
mischief was caused by poison, and because of the present
conduct and antics of the slave, he believed that he had
used the thorn intentionally. The question which puzzled
him however, was, how the thorn had chanced to be so
handy and ready for use. If it grew on any plant in the
vicinity, it was strange that not one of the working party
had been wounded before, because they were continually
getting their flesh pricked and torn, as they cut their way
through the dense undergrowth of the forest. He therefore
persuaded the man to be of good heart, promising to cure
him, and at any rate to mete out such punishment to his
assailant as he deserved, after the old fashion taught in the
Bible, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or a life
for a life.

He then proceeded to try and find out what he could

I

43

from the dwarf; first as to whether he was the cause of the
sailor's hurt. There was no doubc about the reply to this,
the same antics expressive of satisfaction were gone through
again, supplemented by the slave reproducing in pantomime
the action of pressing something into the back of his left
hand with the thumb of his right. The female slave also,
by way of corroboration, pointed to her mate and nodded
her head. Then he tried to elicit from the culprit what
chance there was of recovery. The answer to this was also
quite certain, for the black imp first pointed to the sun,
which was just past the meridian; then with his finger
traced its course down to the horizon, pointed to the wounded
sailor, and then himself went through a pantomime of dying.
He then jumped up off the ground where he had pretended
to fall and die, and went through the action of eating the
poor sailor with great gusto, pointing to the assembled
white men as sharers in the feast, but carefully leaving out
his savage mate, who, it seemed, was not worthy.

So far then the matter was proved beyond cavil; this
black devil not only confessed his guilt, but gloried in it,
and even seemed to demand commendation for having
provided the material for a feast. It was true the white
men, and especially the poor victim, did not see things in
the same light, and John Smith was urged by everyone to
make an end and have the culprit hanged right off as he
deserved. But this was not what the investigator wished for.
He wanted to find out more about the poisoned thorn, and
this he could not do if he killed the user of it at once.

He spent some time trying to discover something, sending
out men for several sorts of thorny plants, and shewing
them to the dwarf; but he was only met with a sort of
sullen defiance, although the woman seemed to urge the
man to disclose what he knew. John Smith now thought it

44

time to take more vigorous measures, and taking hold of
the dwarfs left hand, he drew his own dagger and made
a pretence of cutting it off, at the same distance above the
elbow that the ligature bound the sailor's arm, as if by
way of recompense for the ill inflicted, yet without producing
any impression. Certainly when he proceeded to score a
pretty deep ring round the black arm, and blood flowed,
the savage uttered an exclamation and snarled at him in a
vicious manner; but the woman said something in their
uncouth language, and he lapsed into sullen silence.

He therefore sent for some ropes and a small cane which
he had cut in the forest, intending to have him tied up and
flogged, a punishment which he certainly deserved, even if
the sailor recovered. When, however, the men returned
with the ropes, and together with him advanced on the
dwarf, with the intention of tying him up to a post of the
house, he assumed a very threatening attitude, snarling and
gnashing his teeth like a dog; and John Smith, chancing
to look round at the girl who sat on the ground in charge
of another sailor a little distance off, saw that she was
striving to attract his attention by making a gesture as if
to intimate secrecy, while with one hand she pretended to
take something out of her mop of hair, at the same time
pointing with her other hand to her mate's head. Unfortu-
nately her meaning was not quite understood, and before
the little savage could be overpowered, he succeeded in
snatching another thorn out of his hair and in sticking it
into our hero's cheek. Realising when too late that the girl
had intended to warn him of this, he immediately searched
the savage's head and discovered several more of these
thorns hidden in his hair. These were also undoubtedly
poisoned.

The girl was all this time struggling to get near the men.

45

who had now succeeded in throwing her mate to the ground
and in holding him so securely that he could not move.
John Smith ordered the men who held the girl to let her go,
as from her previous endeavour to assist, by pointing out
where the thorns were hidden, he thought that she meant
to betray her mate.

It was well that he did so, for she immediately ran up
to the prostrate savage and pressing what looked like a
small tumour or swelling on his right side, about opposite
the nipple of his right breast, an object about as large as
a hazel nut was squeezed out of a hole in his skin. Running
to John Smith, she constrained him to sit down on the
floor, and standing behind him she tried to squeeze the
thorn out with her finger nails. Failing to do this, however,
she applied her teeth to it, and actually bit a little piece
of flesh out of his cheek, in which the thorn was embedded.
The pain made our hero cry out, and the men were for
holding back the girl, but he told them to refrain, as he
believed that she was doing the right thing, and would
most likely know best how to deal with the poison, which,
as it was planted in a more dangerous place than in the
case of the sailor, certainly required speedy action. This
the girl also intimated as well as she was able. Being then
allowed to have her own way, she applied her lips to the
wound and sucked several mouthfuls of blood from it, which
she spat out on the floor; then taking from her ear — where
she had placed it for safety, during the time she had been
engaged on John Smith's cheek — the object which had
been apparently stolen from her mate's body, she carefully
opened it by forcing ofl" a sort of lid with her thumb nail,
and disclosed a sort of blackish salve with which it was
filled. A little of this she rubbed into the wound with the
tip of her finger, and giving him the box containing the

I

46

remainder, she smiled at him in a very dehghted way, and
by signs invited him to go away and sleep for a while.
This he was very much inclined to do, the salve apparently
having the property of a narcotic, as well as — at least he
hoped so — that of an antidote to the poison.

The girl assured him, as well as she was able, that he
would feel no ill effects; and he did not, even the pain of
the wound made by the girl's teeth being allayed by the
salve. So, contenting himself by ordering the male dwarf
to be tied up and the girl to be allowed to go free, except
that she was not to leave the stockade, he went away
to sleep.

The girl in the meantime watched the process of securing
her mate, apparently exulting over him, because of her release
and his bonds. She waited until she found a favourable
opportunity to steal the rest of the thorns, of which six
more had been taken from the man's hair and laid aside.

Then when the sailors had left him securely tied to a post,
she went out and fetched some water in a cup, as if to give him
to drink. The sailors allowing her to do this, as it seemed
impossible for her to release him without a knife to cut
his bonds. But her intention was not so kind as it seemed
to be for whilst she was pretending to give him the water
to drink, she deftly planted all six of the thorns is his neck,
without the men perceiving it; and then, leaving the place,
she went and sat down on the floor beside the bench on
which John Smith was sleeping.

The first knowledge the sailors had of what she had done,
was about half an hour after she had left, when, one of
them happening to glance round at the captive, saw that
he was struggling in his bonds, and that his face was fright-
fully contorted. The men crowded round him, and within
five minutes his head fell forward and he was dead. The

I

47

cause of his death was evident, for there were the thorns
sticking in his neck, carefully planted in a line along a main
artery. There seemed no reason to regret his death, for in
every body's opinion he richly deserved to die. The bod>
was then unbound and laid on a bench, to await John Smith's
recovery and the Admiral's order for its disposal.

It was not thought safe, under the circumstances, to leave
the girl at large; therefore her hands and feet were tied,
so that she could do no damage. She submitted willingly
to this discipline, but objected very much to being removed
from the room where her patient was sleeping, and was
therefore set down on the floor against the wall, from which
position she could see his face. Lewes de Havre also stayed
in the room in order to watch his friend and assist him
v/hen he awoke.

The injured sailor, whose arm had been anointed with
the salve, after the ligature had been taken off, was also
sleeping comfortably by this time.

After having slept for about three hours, John Smith awoke
of his own accord, feeling very little the worse, except that
his cheek felt stiff and sore, and that he was very thirsty.

The girl seeing him awake, tried to release herself, and
crawled over towards his bed. Lewes having explained why
she was tied up, and all that had occurred, both he and
our hero decided that it would be only fair to release her
and let her go where she liked. The cords with which she
was bound were therefore untied, when she immediately
carefully examined John Smith's wound and seemed contented
with its appearance. She then went out of the room to where
her mate had been tied up, and seeing him dead, gave
further vent to her satisfaction by making grimaces at him
and slapping his face with her hand, after which she ran
away into the forest, returning in a very short time with

48

a bundle of fresh leaves, like those of a small dock. These
she bruised between two stones and applied to the wound
on her patient's cheek, tying them on with some wilted
strips of fibre taken from the leaf stalk of a wild plantain.
On being taken to see the wounded sailor, she also very
wiUingly fetched some more leaves and doctored his arm in
the same way. This treatment after about a week cured both
of them very effectually, the wounds healing with marvellous
rapidity, so that, except for a scar on his face which John
Smith bore all his life, by way of a souvenir, and as his
friends told him, as a mark of his sweetheart's affection, no
harm was done. The sailor's arm was, however, stiff and
benumbed for several months, probably because the application
of the antidote to the poison was not made so quickly.

His hurt having been thus satisfactorily treated, our hero
and Lewes made a careful examination of the body of the
dwarf, the girl all the time watching them curiously, and
evidently by her actions thinking that they intended to
dress him for the table and eat him; for she was careful
to point out that he should be first cut in half transversely,
and the upper half thrown in the river, because it had
already become somewhat high, due most likely to the action
of the poison. The legs and lower half of the trunk she
explained could be cut into joints and roasted, when it
would be excellent eating. But this did -not quite meet the
views of the white men, who were not anxious either to
make a meal of their enemy or to try the flavour of black
goat: they only wished to examine the curious scars on
his body, and especially the pocket from which the poison
medicine had been taken.

This was situated on the left side, about five inches below
the armpit. It appeared like a fold of the skin, having at
the top a narrow slit, into which the little finger could be

i

*: tl

I

49

pushed; and then, if pressed downwards, a small pocket
about an inch deep was disclosed. It was a most extraordinary
appendage to the human body — and these dwarfs were
certainly human — and not only that, but to people used
to going about without any clothes in which pockets could
be arranged, it formed a most useful contrivance. The question
was how it got there. Neither of our friends had ever seen
a kangaroo, and so knew nothing about the useful pouch
which she uses for a cradle for her babies, or they might
have believed that kind Nature had also provided these
wild people with pockets. A further examination of the body
disclosed the fact that on the other side, in about the same
position, there was another fold of the skin, which looked
as if it had been intended for a pocket, but without success.
On the chest, also, there were some long, raised scars and knobs
of flesh, which were too regularly arranged to admit of the
supposition that they were either the result of wounds received
in fights, or of scratches from thorns in the forest. This led
|them to the conclusion that the pocket, as well as the scars,
ad been artificially made ; but although the scars could be
easily accounted for, the little pockets remained a mystery,
and our friends turned to the girl for an explanation of it.
When she understood what they wanted to know, she
tried to show them how the pocket was made, by picking
up a little pebble as big as a pea and pinching up the skin
of her own side round it; but seeing that they failed to
follow her meaning, she illustrated it in quite an heroic manner
the next day, when John Smith tried to find out more about it.
Having provided herself with a rough bit of sandstone,
pebble, some fibres from the withered leaf stalk of the
wild plantain, which she deftly rolled into a strong thread
on her naked thigh, and a long, sharp and»very strong thorn,
all of which she had collected on the edge of the forest,

4

50

she showed them to John Smith, and leading him to the
small room in the fort where he generally slept, she made
him sit down on the bed, and squatting down on the ground
in front of him, she proceeded to give him a lesson in savage
surgery. First she placed the smooth egg-shaped pebble
against her body, midway between her breasts, then pressing
the two mammae together, and enclosing the pebble between
them, she carefully noted and marked the lines of impact,
by painting them with a little of the salve which had been
used on the poisoned wounds. Then with the sharp sandstone
she abraded the skin until the blood flowed freely. When
this was done to her satisfaction, and the two surfaces from
which the skin had been rubbed off fitted together over the
pebble, she took the long thorn — to which she had previously
attached the thread — and anointing this needle and thread
with the salve, she commenced to sew her breasts together
over the pebble, piercing the skin just on the outside of
the abraded parts, alternately of the right and left breasts,
until, as John Smith writes, it looked as if she were lacing
her stays. He attempted several times to stop her, thinking
that she must be undergoing great torture ; but she would
not be stopped, and pointing to the vessel of salve, made
him understand that it did not hurt at all, and this from
his own experience he could well believe, as the salve
appeared to have the property of allaying pain.

Having thus completed the stitching, as far as was necessary
for her purpose, she took John Smith's hands in her own,
and placing them on either side of her breast, she made
him press the two wounded surfaces together, whilst she
drew the stitches tight and fastened the thread; then, anointing
the wounded surfaces with the salve, she lifted triumphantly
to his, and showed him that she had constructed a pocket, even
better than her dead mates, as it would hold a much larger article.

51

This, then, was how it was done, by rubbing the skin
off two places on the body, and by approaching these two
wounded surfaces and fastening them. After an interval they
grew together. Probably this growth was assisted by the
wonderful salve. The pebble was intended to give shape to
the pocket whilst the seam was joining, after which it would
be squeezed out to make room for some treasured possession.
It seemed scarcely credible, but they were able to verify
it afterwards; for when they got into communication with
these dwarfs, they noticed that many of the women had
their breasts fastened together, thus forming pockets in which
small articles were kept. It was, however, significant that
only old women were thus furnished, the operation apparently
being only performed after they had passed the period of
child-bearing, and when their breasts had become flaccid
and pendulous. The reason of this was evident, even if the
limitation was not expedient from an aesthetic point of view;
for truly the human form divine was not improved by the
application of this surgical corset, as was now plainly to be
perceived in the present instance. Perhaps the girl thought
so herself, for having understood that her master was satisfied
with her performance, she proceeded to undress herself to
the extent of taking off her stays, when, having applyed a
little more of the salve, she seemed as well as ever she was.

I

CHAPTER VI.

The adventurers were now very anxious to start some
sort of trading with the natives. They were too near the
Portuguese settlement of Loanda and of those along the
coast, north and south of the Zaire River, to be altogether
safe; and they were anxious to get on to the East Indies
before the combination of merchants, which was being formed
in Holland, equalized the commerce and probably mono-
poHzed all the trade, a contingency the Admiral felt certain
would be the result, as soon as ever they were strong
enough to rival the Portuguese ventures subsidized by the
King of Portugal, who, indeed, at that time sold licences
to merchants for large sums of money, besides monopolizing
the trade in pepper himself.

Moreover, the spirit of adventure was rife in England,
where there were sea-captains who had inherited the spirit
of the Drakes, Hawkins and Frobishers of a former generation,
who were only too anxious to take pay from the merchants
of the City of London or Bristol, and, if a strong enough
expedition could be fitted out, to attack the trade of the
Eastern empire in the Indian ocean which the Portuguese
had succeeded in building up, and which, with Goa for its
metropolis, was the ideal triumph of the great Albuquerque.
But both Holland and England realised that the fight for
mastery would ultimately lie between themselves; for it was
evident that the Portugals had become effete and to the

I

53

last degree corrupt. Honesty was a negligible quantity, and the
worst vices of the Latin race had become intensified by habitual
intercourse with the crafty and cruel Orientals. As with the
Spanish in America, so with the Portugals in the East, the
new race of mixed blood — resulting from their inter-marriage
with native women, mostly of the lower class, the collective
conscience of whom was held in the grip of the Roman
priesthood — was lazy, cowardly, cruel, treacherous and
dishonest to the last degree, and ripe to become subject to
a strong master. It was to this mixed race the Portugals
had to trust chiefly as agents, for the collection of merchandise
from the native traders and the Arabian merchants.

Strong, if cruel, chiefs like Albuquerque, Vasco da Gama,
Magalhaens, Estavao and Christavao da Gama, had been
succeeded by men like Duarte and Henrique de Menezes,
Garcia de Norhona and Martim Afonso de Sousa.

The preaching of the great missionary, Saint Francis
Xavier, had also borne its fruits in a threatened crusade,
not only against the Mohamadan inhabitants of India, but
also against the followers of other faiths, while the mistake
made by the earlier adventurers in considering the Hindus,
Nairs and other cults of India, as merely uncultivated sects
of Christianity had been rectified, and the councils of the
Portuguese merchant princes and officials were too much
influenced by the religious element to prosper as admini-
strative parliaments.

The English East India Company had already been founded.
They had received their charter a year ago, and might be
expected to prove formidable rivals; but James Neccy hoped
that they would confine their trading to India proper, and
leave the Malay countries and the islands beyond the Bay
of Bengal alone. He was therefore anxious to get on as
fast as possible, and would willingly forego any chance

54

traffic in Africa, if only his ship-wrights could get to work on
his damaged flag-ship. But it was plainly inadvisable to put
unseasoned timber into his wooden walls. He saw, therefore,
that it was hopeless to think of starting for another two
months, which would carry him on to about October of the
year 1600 ; at which time of the year the hot and rainy
season of the West coast of Africa, as he was well aware,
commenced, when it would be very unhealthy. Up to the
present the weather had been cool and fine, and his people
had suffered very little from the climate.

The neighbourhood of the Portugals had made it a little
unsafe, and there had been so far little chance of trade,
owing to the shyness of the natives. It was therefore deter-
mined to make an advance into the country, so soon as the
Peter Asmodeus should come up river again, which she
was expected to do, all being well, in a few days time.

In the meantime, in order that the natives should get
used to the noise of firearms, John Smith and Lewes with
a few men went up river each day and shot crocodiles on
the edge of the clearing. The slave girl was always taken
with them, and she, being now quite docile and allowed to
go where she pleased, soon got over her fright when a gun
was fired, although she could not quite understand how it
occurred that crocodiles died from the effects of it.

In an honest endeavour to assist her new master, she
took great pains to construct a small bow and some arrows,
making the bow-string of a sinew taken from the tail of a
large crocodile, and the barbed tips for her arrows from its
teeth, which she laboriously ground to a point and the
proper shape on a stone. She was, however, unable to dress
the arrows with poison, and made John Smith understand
that it could only be procured from her own people, a long
way off in the forest.

55

Now this poison and its antidote John Smith wished
especially to acquire, and he tried all he knew to make the
girl understand his wishes, offering her all sorts of articles
if she would go into the forest and procure it; but either
she did not understand him, or perhaps was afraid to go
alone into the forest: at any rate he could not persuade
her to do what he wished. Indeed she had become so
attached to him, following him about like a dog and refusing
to leave him, day or night, that at last she became quite
a nuisance, and he was often constrained to tie her up to
a post in the stockade, in order to have any personal
liberty at all.

In due course the Peter Asmodeus came up the river,
having seen no signs of the Portugals, her sick people being
very much better for the change. Preparations were therefore
hurried on for an expedition into the forest.

It was decided to penetrate as far as the hills which had
been passed coming up stream, and from which the mysterious
noises had been heard. The plan to be adopted was to take
a band of fifty men, forty of whom would be fully armed
with matchlocks and swords, while the remaining ten would
act as woodcutters and carriers of water and provisions for
the march, as well as a few packets of cloth and beads,
so that the expedition might be prepared at any moment
to disarm hostility by gifts. Some flasks of schnapps and
medicines also were not forgotten.

The order of march was carefully arranged. First, two
[men with hatchets would cut a slight path through the
undergrowth; then John Smith with a small compass would
[follow to direct the line, for a bearing had been taken to
ithe highest hill from the clearing. Following close at his
heels came the slave girl, who would not be left behind,
and whose knowledge of the forest, besides her voluntary

56

presence with the party, would probably be useful. After
her came in single file three picked matchlock men, to
protect the head of the column. With these walked Lewes
de Havre, who was in command of the whole of the men-
at-arms; and then three more men with axes and wood-knives
cleared and improved the path for the main body of the
soldiers, who marched three abreast. The carriers were in
the centre of this body. The rear-guard was commanded
by old Christian Lentholm ; while two of the assistant super-
cargoes and three other officers marched with the column
at intervals along its formation, to keep a sharp .look-out
for enemies or anything of interest that might occur on
the march.

The distance to be traversed was about twenty miles, and
it was hoped that by changing the band of woodcutters every
hour, and working eight hours each day, the hills would be
reached and a good path cleared in about ten days, unless
unforseen obstacles, such as rivers or morasses, were encoun-
tered, and if the advance was not molested by hostile natives.

They started early in the morning, and after three days'
work, in which no particular incident is recorded, and during
which they reckoned they had cleared a path about seven
miles long, they came to a swamp with deep mud and
tangled creepers, which caused some delay, taking two whole
days to bridge, even with an augmented force of wood-
cutters, although it was only about half a mile across. They
bridged this place by felling trees along the line of march,
and by then making a platform of round logs cut from
saplings, which they laid across the trees. Some very large
bamboo which was found near by, also materially assisted
the construction.

They had, up to this, seen no signs of natives, but two
days after, on getting to the other side of the swamp, the

57

slave girl pointed out to John Smith a slight track crossing
their line of route, and set by the side of this track,
a slight structure consisting of two small sticks planted in
the ground, and each having a fork at the top, while resting
in these forks was another straight stick with one end
sharpened and pointing along the track. The girl picked
this stick off its supports and shewed her master three
notches out in it. What these notches meant he could not
ascertain ; but the girl evidently knew, for she urged him
to go along the track with her, but would not allow anyone
to go with them. Against the advice of Lewes and the
others he decided to go, feeling confidence in the girl's
honesty, and contenting himself with taking a matchlock,
and by warning Lewes to come to his assistance if he fired.
The track was very much overgrown, and often they had
to bend nearly double; indeed John Smith could not distin-
guish that there was a path at all in some places, and
found it very difficult to keep up with his guide. After
struggling along for about two hundred yards the girl found
another sign, the fruit of a tree about as big as a large
orange on the point of a stick planted in the ground. Beside
this was an irregular-shaped stone, about as large as a
man's head, while lying on this stone was another sharpened
stick pointing into the forest at right angles to the path.
The fruit on being examined proved to be carved into the
rude representation of a human face, with the mouth wide
open and a slip cut from another fruit of the same descrip-
tion inserted for a tongue. A small hole was bored through
the tongue, and the face was turned in the same direction
as the stick indicated. All these signs the girl pointed out
to her master, and then turning to the direction indicated,
she uttered a cry, first softly and then louder, which after
an interval elicited a response from the forest. The girl then,

58

beckoning her master to follow, left the path and went in
the direction of the voice. They both had to crawl now in
the best way they could, for there was no path, and it took
them longer to travel the distance, about thirty yards, than
it had done all the rest of the way. At the end of the
thirty yards they found a great rock, standing apparently
a hundred feet sheer out of the ground. Its sides were
precipitous, and John Smith could follow it with his eye
for about a bow-shot distance to the right and left. A small
stream washed its base, and this, and the forest bordering
it, was trampled in all directions, as if by a herd of beasts
habitually coming there to drink, and from the enormous
foot-prints it was evident to him that at last he had got
within ken of elephants, perhaps too near them to be quite safe.

As soon as the girl and he got to the stream, the same
cry that had directed them was uttered again from the
forest close to them on the right, and on the girl answering
it, a short conversation was carried on between her and
her invisible friend. Then, signing to him to remain where
he was, she ran a little way down stream and darted into
the forest. Our hero, although he trusted her himself, thought
it better to be prepared for every emergency, so crossed
the stream, placed himself with his back to the rock, saw
that the match of his gun was smouldering and in good
order, and that his rapier was loose in its sheath, and then,
as calmly as he could, awaited the next event.

He had not long to wait, for very soon the slave girl
came towards him, leading by the hand what he at first
took to be some sort of hideous ape, but which on drawing
nearer he saw was an old woman. She was quite naked and
very ugly. Her body was scarred with wounds in every
direction, some recent and some looking as if they had been
inflicted long before. Her forehead was ornamented with a

59

series of long scars, radiating from the centre of each eye to the
edge of the hair, as if meant for rays, while the two flaccid
bags of her breast were sown together, forming a good-sized
pocket. Beside her the young girl looked almost pretty.
She was apparently in great spirits, and from her peculiar
gestures and actions when bringing forward the old woman
to introduce her to John Smith, the latter gathered that
she was her mother. Certainly she was not a parent to be
proud of, but apparently she was regarded by her daughter
with considerable affection.

The old lady was shy, but not from modesty, for she was
naked and dit not know it, while her daughter, when with
her in the forest, had also discarded her petticoat, and now
carried it in her hand ; perhaps she intended bestowing it
on her mother, or perhaps she did not want to shame her
by appearing in society better dressed than she was. At
any rate they both came up to John Smith as naked as
they were born, and it was probably fear that made the
old lady hang back. He wished now to return to the rest
of the party, but this did not suit the two ladies, and he
was constrained to sit down on the ground by the girl,
who, for her mother's edification, and with a great assump-
tion of pride, caressed and fawned on him in her usual
manner; and then the two of them squatted down in
front of him, and the girl commenced to fish in her mother's
pocket. First she brought out some teeth, which looked
very like human ones, and which the old lady promptly
snatched from her and held tight in her own hand; then
two pebbles, which John Smith thought were amulets, but
which when the girl put them into his hand he determined
to keep, if he was allowed to do so, and there seemed no
particular objection to it. He noticed that they looked
like rough water-worn glass and that they were shaped

6o

somewhat like irregular cubes, about as large as beech mast.
He had heard that this was the appearance of diamonds in
the rough, and thought that these might be the precious
stones; so without showing any undue elation, as he did
not wish to make the women think them of any great
importance, he put them away in his pouch.

The girl then produced six nuts which she showed by
her smiles she considered of much greater value. She cracked
one of them between two stones and offered it to her master ;
but then, perhaps thinking that he would be afraid it was
poisonous, she ate it herself and prepared another one for
him, which he did not hesitate to eat, feeling every confidence
in her honesty. The other four she signed to him to put
away in his pouch, without any objection on the part of
her mother.

The nut had a peculiar aromatic flavour, and at first
John Smith did not perceive why the girl should exhibit so
much joy at finding them, but after a short time he experienced
a warm glow all over his body, and a sensation which was
new to him. The girl also was exited to a very high degree,
and when he involuntarily smiled at her, for she appeared
to him almost pretty and very happy, it did not require
the slight push which her mother administered, to make her
sidle over to him and commence to caress him.

But our hero was not to be thus conquered, for he now
understood that he had been given a powerful love philtre,
and was offended thereat. He repulsed her amorous advances,
and rose to his feet with the intention of going back to
his friends at once, sternly signing to the girl to lead the
way; but he was checked by the old woman, who said
something quickly to her daughter, whose face suddenly
expressed great fright, and who quickly made her master
understand that there was danger. As he understood what

she meant to impart to him by her signs and gesticulations,
there were vast numbers of the big race of savages all
round them, waiting to attack when an opportunity occurred.
But she reassured him by explaining that her own people
would assist them, and that she was not afraid of the result.
She also made him understand that they would bring in
elephant tusks after the big savages had been fought and
beaten.

She was now quite as anxious as he was to get back to
their company, and after dismissing her mother, who carried
off her petticoat with her — apparently to the girl's relief
rather than otherwise — they went back to the edge of
the swamp by the same path they had come, and there
they found the others anxiously waiting for them.

John Smith had by this time managed to learn some few
words of the dialect spoken by the dwarfs; and with this
knowledge and the use of many signs and gestures, when
they got back to the stockade, he questioned the girl more
closely, and made out that her people were always at war
with the bigger race of savages, who were in the habit of
keeping them as slaves when they could catch them, and
of eating all those whom they killed. She admitted also
that her people ate their enemies, but that in neither tribe
were the women allowed to indulge in this food. Her people
were armed with small bows and poisoned arrows, the poison
for which, as well as its antidote, was prepared by old men
far away in the forest, and was carefully guarded as an
important secret from the other race.

This other race was armed with throwing spears or javelins,
having broad iron blades. Her people did not use spears;
they were not physically strong enough. They tipped their
arrows with ivory or fish bone, and carried little iron-headed
axes. They had lately also taken to earring poisoned thorns

62

in their hair, to use if they found an opportunity when
they were taken prisoners.

Her mother had been lurking round the village of the
big savages in the hopes of rescuing her, and had found
out that it was their intention to attack the white men very
soon, when all the young fighting men had returned to the
village from the forest, and that they were confident of
success. But the girl said that her people would help the
white men to easily beat the others, and she made John Smith
understand that she wanted to go into the forest and see
her people, so as to tell them all about it. After the Admiral
had been consulted, she was allowed to go, after having
assured them that she would return the next morning.

CHAPTER VII.

The situation was now becoming serious. Neither James
Neccy nor any of the other chiefs of the expedition were
anxious to come to blows with the natives of either race;
they would much prefer peaceful trading; but if the big
savages resented their presence in the country and meant
to do them injury, there was of course nothing else to do
but fight, under which circumstances it would be weN to
have the dwarfs as allies, because it seemed that there were
a good many of the big savages, and considering the contempt
in which human life was held by all such people, it might
be that they would be able to overpower the white men
by mere force of numbers. It was agreed, therefore, not to
continue the cutting of the path the next morning, but to
await the return of the girl, and then call a meeting of the
whole expedition and deliberate as to what action to take next.

The next morning John Smith — who as well as Lewes
de Havre had small rooms to themselves in the stockade —
when he awoke was astonished beyond measure to see the
girl and two dwarf men squatting close beside his bed, and
staring intently at him. He sat up on his bed-place, and
the girl, first going to his side, crouched down close to him,
and taking his hand placed it on her head, and then moving
down to his feet, commenced to lick them like a dog.

The men then came forward, and lying down on the bed.

64

each his bow and six arrows, together with the cords which
they wore round their waists, and which supported small
axes or tomahawks, proceeded first one and then the other
to take his hand, lay it on his head, and then to hck his
feet. Then, apparenly at a suggestion from the girl, they
took from pockets in their skin little cases like that containing
the antidote which had been taken from the dead dwarf,
and presented them to him. Having thus done homage, and
as it seemed to John Smith made themselves his men, they
retired a little way and squatted down on the ground whilst
he dressed himself.

Having dressed, he went and roused Lewes de Havre,
and together they saw all the sentries posted at the corners
of the stockade. They were all on the alert, and declared
that they had kept careful watch, and as it was bright moon-
light it seemed very strange that the girl and her companions
had managed to enter the stockade without being perceived ;
but at any rate there they were to be dealt with, so John
Smith and Lewes returned to the former's room, taking with
them three large bowls of porridge, which the cook was just
preparing for the morning's meal.

They found the dwarfs in the same position as they had
left them in, so setting the bowls before them, they invited
them to eat, and their hunger being satisfied, with the girl's
assistance they started negotiations with them. They ascertained
that the bigger race lived in a town in the hills, towards
which the path was being cut, and that they meant to fight
the white men and kill and eat all of them.

It was found impossible to ascertain for certain how many
fighting men they had, for the dwarfs seemed to have a
very rudimentary idea of expressing numbers, at least so
far as could be understood, although probably from their
own point of view they explained to their hearers correctly

65

how many men of both races would take part in the fight.
Their method of counting consisted of opening and shutting
their hands, and then at intervals drawing short lines in the
dust of the floor, until at the end of their endeavours, to
make the respective numbers of the three forces plain to
their questioners, there appeared thirteen lines, headed by
a long stick with the bark on, as opposed to eight lines
headed by a short stick with the bark on, and two long
and one short lines headed by a long peeled stick. To make
their hosts understand that the two lines and a half with
the peeled stick, meant the white men, the girl fetched a
matchlock and laid it down beside that row, and she herself
sat on the ground beside the short unpeeled stick, to emphasize
that it meant the dwarf army.

This was all very plain so far as it went, and certainly
was meant to express that the proportions were as thirteen
to eight of the savage races, and that the white men were
in much smaller numbers ; but whether the numbers thirteen
and eight represented hundreds, or fifties, or scores, or dozens
was a moot point. Both the white men were of the opinion
that they meant hundreds, for the lines drawn for their
party thus indicated their correct number, the expedition
consisting of between two hundred and fifty and two hundred
and sixty men all told. Moreover, it seemed reasonable to
reckon that there were over a thousand of the big savages
if there was a town in the vicinity, and also when the crocodile
was shot, the noise made by the stampede of the savages
was certainly caused by a great quantity of people,
i. They were unable to find out from the dwarfs when the
attack was to be made, or why the savages were angry
with them. They could not, in fact, obtain any more infor-
mation, for the two little men were evidently becoming
uneasy, because the stockade was by this time beginning

66

to get busy, as the men had all had their breakfasts and
were going about their usual avocations.

Lewes therefore went to fetch the Admiral and the Captains,
to have a short consultation in John Smith's room, before
the general conference of the adventurers, which was to be
held that day; and after the position had been explained
to the Admiral and Captains, the two dwarfs were cere-
moniously given their weapons back again by the Admiral,
and also a pair of breeches each and a coat, and were then
taken round the stockade, where they were shown the armoury
of matchlocks and the cannons mounted on their banquettes.
These weapons they could not understand, so Lewes trained
a demi-culverin next the river, aiming at a large crocodile
which was floating down with the tide, and firing it he
pointed out to them that he had certainly killed the beast,
for it was floating on belly upwards, and was convulsively
kicking, whilst the water was reddened by its blood. The
noise made by the gun frightened all three of the dwarfs
a good deal however, they soon got over it, and took a
great interest in the reloading; but they were evidently
very nervous and were therefore allowed to depart, the girl
staying behind.

At the general conference which was held soon after, and
which was attended by the whole of the expedition except
the sentries on duty, it was decided to go on with the
road-making as before, but at every interval of about four
miles, small block-houses, capable of holding about ten
matchlockmen, should be erected to guard the line of retreat,
supposing that the working party should be attacked. These
blockhouses were to be protected by clearing the under-
growth all round them, so that the enemy could not come
to close quarters without being for some time within range
of the matchlocks; and it was ordered that as soon as the

67

working party heard firing at one of the blockhouses, it
was immediately to come back as fast as possible to assist
in beating off the savages, while a small force advanced at
the same time from the fort to cover the retreat. John
Smith was also quite sure that directly a fight began the
dwarfs would come to their assistance, but of course this
could not be depended on, for after all it might be that
the dwarfs were in league with the other savages, and were
only pretending to ally themselves with the white men in
order to get a fair opportunity to attack them, when they
could do so with the best chance of success.

The first thing to do was to erect a little fort on the
edge of the morass nearest the river. This took them three
days, during which time nothing was seen of the enemy;
but each day two fresh dwarfs were brought into the fort
by the slave girl, and what was very satisfactory about
these visits was that each pair of them brought in a fine
elephant's tusk, so that at last the Admiral was gratified
by the prospect of trade. The girl now began to be very
useful and to show that she had the interests of the white
men at heart, for whereas the Admiral when the first tusk
was brought in, out of sheer happiness that his wishes were
at last being fulfilled, presented each of the dwarfs with a
boy's coat and pair of breeches, when the next day two
more men brought in another tusk, and were about to be
given a suit each in exchange, she quietly took one suit
away from the man who brought it in, and laid it aside,
and then with her own hands dressed one dwarf in the coat
and the other in the breeches, sending them off thus strangely
attired, to the great amusement of the men in the stockade.

It also became a fashion directly the dwarfs arrived, to
give each of them a large bowl of porridge with lumps of
salted fat pork in it, which they seemed to enjoy very much.

6S

Things went on like this for another ten days, until the
road had been cut for about ten miles trough the forest,
and two small stockades built, so that some of the men
began to think that the savages dit not mean to attack them
at all. But this was only what they hoped for and the hope
was very short-lived. The dwarf girl began to show signs of
great excitement, often crawling into the thick forest in
advance of the line of march, apparently with the intention
of spying; and one morning when the usual pair of dwarfs
came in with the elephant's tusk, she kept them, and insisted
on them accompanying the working party, whose progress
was now of course very slow, as they had to march ten
miles to and from the end of the cleared path to the fort,
so that it was seriously considered whether it would not be
better to build a stockade and place in it permanently a
force of about fifty men, so that so much time need not be
wasted in travelling to and fro; and this would most likely
have been done, only on the day on which it was to have
been started a most important discovery was made, and
that was the end of the forest, which they reached about
midday. The timber had gradually got thinner, and ultimately
merged into an immense field of coarse grass, gradually
rising to the summit of a low range of hills, which again
was crowned with trees. The dwarf girl explained that the
town of the big savages was on the other side of the trees,
in a big field like the one in front of them, but with short
grass. This prairie seemed a much more dangerous bit of
country to traverse, in the face of a savage foe, than the
forest was, because in the latter the javelins could not be
used with effect, whereas here the savages could evidently
creep up without being seen to within throwing distance,
and do much damage before they could be checked.

The obvious thing to do was to burn the grass, so that

69

there should be no cover left, but to do this was tantamount
to declaring war, for it was not to be imagined that the
big savages would view with equanimity a force of strangers
advancing towards their town. They would be bound to
consider such an action as hostile; and they on their side
had not as yet done anything to provoke hostility; indeed,
for many days, since the episode of the shooting of the
crocodile, hardly anything had been seen of them, although
it was certain that they were watching the advance, because
they were often heard in the forest on both sides of the
path, while occasionly they were seen to pop up and then
hide again in the undergrowth. Moreover, the dwarf girl
and her companions were very excited and anxious.

It was very difficult to know how to organise the advance,
because they did not know how far off the town was from
the edge of the prairie. This appeared to be about three
miles across, and if it was so, and the town was near the
other edge of it, or at any rate only a short distance trough
the timber which they could see on the hill-top, it might
be possible to reach it in one march from the fort in the
morning and get back again at night; that was if they
burnt the grass first and the savages did not resist them.
If, on the other hand, they had to fight, there was very
great uncertainty as to how it might turn out. It was
possible, if they had good fortune, that they would be able
to turn the savages out of the town, and take possession
of it themselves so that they could rest the night of the
fight in the stronghold of their vanquished enemies. This
would be very satisfactory. Or if they could not do that,
they might have to bivouac where they could, and protect
themselves as well as possible under the circumstances, until
the next day allowed them to resume the fight, or to retreat
to the fort.

JO

The three leaders discussed their chances very anxiously,
and ultimately decided that the first thing to do at any
rate was to burn the grass, and then go back to the fort
and submit the matter to the Admiral and the others
for advice.

Now the grass was very dry. It consisted chiefly of a
coarse species growing in tussocks, each with many stalks
bearing splendid plumes of efidorescence, which made the
whole plain appear like a waving sea of foam. Since the
adventurers had been in the country, now nearly four months,
there had been hardly any rain, and except the plants
under the actual shade of the forest, everything was as dry
as tinder.

It was summer in this region : the forest trees were all
bearing ripening fruit, and the streams and rivulets crossed
on the march were nearly dried up, so that it was quite a
common occurrence now to hear, and even see, wild beasts,
which had come down from the higher land in search of
water. Often their nerves were shaken by what they supposed
to be the roar of the lion, and the noise made by huge
beasts crashing through the forest to avoid their approach.
The slow matches on their guns were attentively looked to
and kept glowing for the nervous ones of the party were
afraid of the chances of the forest; but they had a much
greater superstitious dread of its fabled monsters, and the
witchcraft of the giants and dwarfs with which, in their
imagination it was filled, than they had of the actual prowess
of the savages. Lions and elephants, mighty river cows and
great serpents, were known only to the majority of the
adventurers as terrible beasts that were prone to attack and
rend and trample from mere viciousness. Little was actually
understood of their real habits, and what was known only
tended to frighten the men from its very vagueness, which

71

their sojourn of four months on the outskirts of the forest
and immunity from attack had not as yet dispelled.

It was agreed that the quickest and safest way to get
across the intervening prairie between the forest and the
hill-tops would be to first clear it by burning, as they would
then be enabled to at least see any attacking party for
some distance before they came to close quarters. Accordingly
fire was set to the edge of the grass, which soon began to
blaze up ; and as the slight wind which prevailed was blowing
towards the hills, it gradually spread wider and wider, until
it was a living wall of flame, retreating like a brilliant army
up the slope towards the hills, and leaving in its track
blackened devastation, typical of the course of a conque-
ring horde.

But it was doing something more, for its advance was at
last disclosing plainly to the adventurers enemies and friends
all at one time.

None too soon did Lewes de Havre form his troop into
a column of threes, to retreat along the homeward path;
for as the fire spread to right and left, hundreds of dark
warriors sprang up out of the grass, rushed back to the
forest, and closed in on the Httle band on either flank.
And as they ran they flourished over their heads sheaves
of four or five javelines, broadbladed and dangerous looking.
But as the big savages rushed back to cover, it was seen
that they were followed by an undulating line in the tall
grass, and the slave girl clutched John Smith's arm as she
pointed to this phenomenon with great glee, and made him
understand that this waving of the grass, at some distance
in the rear of the rushing savages, was caused by her smaller
tribesmen, whose heads were not high enough to show above
the feathery plumes of the prairie.

Then for the first time certainty of assistance from their

72

ugly little allies was assured to the band of adventurers,
and they were all of them greatly heartened by the knowledge,
so that the retreat was begun in good spirits. It was led
by old Christian Lentholm, while the rear was commanded
by Lewes and John Smith. This was always the order of
march of the column when returning to the fort, thus
reversing the way it was led out to work in the forest
each morning.

Each man knew what he was to do in case of an attack
by the savages; under no circumstances was a piece to be
fired at random, but promptly on seeing an enemy, or even
sufficient movement in the forest to make it plain that an
enemy was behind a bush, the outside file of the column
was to halt and fire, and then to pass his matchlock back
to the centre file of the column for reloading. This centre
file consisted, all -along the line, of the men who had started
out without matchlocks to do the cutting and clearing of
the path, and the officers. All of these men, as well as the
matchlockmen and the officers in command, besides their
heavy weapons, carried pistols in their belts, so that the
little force of about sixty men could deliver quickly over
one hundred shots; and as they were ordered to fire indepen-
dently and carefully, there seemed a reasonable hope that
they could, as they marched along, keep a considerable
crowd of savages, — who could not use their javelins very
effectively in the dense forest, — at bay.

But it was, to say the least of it, dangerous work to thus
march in a long attenuated column, for nearly ten miles
through the forest, with a savage enemy on either flank
who might at any moment make a rush and commnece
stabbing with the broad-bladed spears.

For the first mile or two they were not interrupted, and
they began to hope that they would get back without having

4

I

73

to fight; but, before they got to the swamp and its bridge
of round timbers, the fun began. The first shot fired was,
appropriately enough, an arrow from the bow of one of the
dwarfs, who proudly trotted along, one on either side of
John Smith, and who, with the girl behind him, seemed as
if they had constituted themselves his especial body-guard.
Apparently one of the sharp-eyed little savages had detected
a movement, or seen part of the body of a naked savage
on the edge of the space, which had luckily been cleared
of undergrowth for some distance back from the path, for
suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, and drawing back
the arrow, which was carried adjusted to the string, to his
ear, with a twang it flew across the comparatively clear
space, and certainly hit its mark, for a big savage stumbled
with a cry back into the cover, regardless of exposing himself.

It seemed as if this acted like a signal, for suddenly,
with a great shout, a crowd of warriors, brandishing their
weapons, appeared at the edge of the cleared ground, and
poising their javelins, threw them at the little band of white
men; but they did hardly any harm, as the distance was
too great, so that not one in fifty reached the path, and
those few which did were too spent to penetrate the strong
leather jerkins of the matchlockmen, who were also well
protected with morions, breast and back plates, as well as
with great boots, which, hot as they were for marchmg,
were willingly worn as a protection against the thorns and
other dangers of the forest, and now proved their usefulness
as defensive armour in a fight.

Not so easily did the savages escape from this first encounter,
for the order to fire as soon as ever a savage became visible
to a marksman, was very literally carried out. Within the
space of two or three minutes, several hundreds of savages
were all at once visible, and within point blank range; so,

74

promptly, between twenty and thirty guns spoke their message
from either side of the long column, and with very deadly
effect, for many of the enemy were seen to bite the dust,
some quite dead, some only wounded, but all who fell were
left by their tribesmen where they lay. Frightened by the
noise of the guns, the survivors rushed with a cry of terror
back to the shelter of the forest. Their attack had never
met with such a response before, and their knowledge of
the white mens strength in weapons was bought dearly.
The little band stood still in its tracks until the weapons
were reloaden ; then it marched on over the bridge, and
picking up the garrison of the small blockhouse on its way,
reached the fort without further incident.

Long before they got home, the two dwarfs had left the
column, and they did not return again until some time during
the night; for next morning, when John Smith awoke, he
found both of them and the girl squatting in his room. As
soon as they saw he was awake, the two men came forward
and each commenced to unroll a package wrapped in many
coverings of green plantain leaves, until they disclosed the
contents, which were gruesome enough and not calculated
to favourably impress a white man early in the morning;
for each package contained a choice assortment, of what,
at the first glance, were recognisable as parts of the human
body. Internal members, as well as small joints and organs,
like fingers and ears, were all represented in the bill of
fare, which had been carefully prepared for the delectation
of our hero. It was a friendly tribute, and one could under-
stand that if offered to a chief of the tribe would have
been properly appreciated ; but as it was, it failed to arouse
the enthusiasm which was evidently, at least by the male
dwarfs, expected of it. The recipient's first care, after he
had dressed himself, was to have the morsels of poor humanity

I

I

75

buried outside the stockade. This seemed to answer the
purpose, from the dwarf's point of view, equally as well
as if they had been eaten : probably they considered that
the burial was an offering made to the earth god, instead
of to the belly god, although it must have seemed a little
wasteful to them.

From the gesticulations of the dwarfs, and from the
translation of their narrative made by the girl, he gathered
that a great battle had been fought between the big savages
and the dwarfs, and that the latter had the best of it. Both
the men and the girl made him understand that the white
men should now march on to the big savages' town, wit-
hout further delay.

This advice seemed good to the Admiral and the others
when they heard of it, the only question was, how was it
to be done. It was certain that they could not march out
nearly twenty miles, fight a battle, — for nobody thought
for a moment that the town would be surrendered without
a fight, — and then march back another twenty miles to
the fort. If they waited to build another stockade on the
edge of the forest to retreat to, it was certain that what
was built during the day-time, would be destroyed by their
enemies during the night, so that their labour would only
be lost. Therefore the proper thing to be done seemed to
be to make a dash for the town, take it, and stay there
for the night, after driving the savages out of it; and the
only question which remained, was whether they were strong
enough to do this.

That it would be worth doing, nobody doubted; for not
only did the slave girl make John Smith understand that the
big savages had great quantities of ivory, but so far as she
could be understood, he believed she tried to explain that
there were great quantities of food, probably grain of some

76

sort, in the town, as well as cows giving milk. If this were
so, it would be a great God-send, as the salted beef and
pork casks were beginning to get low, although vast quantities
of fish had been caught and had latterly constituted a chief
part of their diet. Fresh meat and a store of grain would
compensate for much expense of labour in marching, and
the prospective fight did not in the smallest degree discourage
a single man, for they were quite prepared to risk their
lives for gain, and the chance of sacking a town — even
if it was only a savage one, and ivory and slaves the only
booty besides good victuals — raised every ones spirits.

Further encouragement of this design, resulted from a
small expedition made by John Smith at his faithful attendant's
instigation. She led him into the forest for about half a
mile along very slight track, until she heard a peculiar call,
more bird-like than human, and on her answering it, four dwarf
men came out of the forest and, squatting down on the
ground, proceeded to unload from their backs each a small
carrying basket made of split canes. On these being emptied
on to the ground, a pile of human ears, freshly severed
from the heads, was disclosed. These the girl counted out
into heaps of ten pairs each, until she had got eight heaps
and six over. It was easy to see that these ears originally
belonged to the enemy, for they were quite a different shape
to those growing on the heads of the dwarfs who had
brought them in. If, therefore, eighty-six had been killed in
the fight, it must have been continued in the forest by the
dwarfs, who were probably numerous; and in answer to
John Smith's enquiry, he was made to understand that only
about thirty of the dwarfs had been killed. Probably the
eighty-six included those killed and wounded by the match-
lockmen in the first attack, but even then it proved that
in the forest the dwarfs were as good fighters as the bigger

77

race; but it might be different in the open, where the
javelins and the more athletic men would have an advantage.
Also, because of their numbers the white men might find
them dangerous under these circumstances.

The girl then led her master along the new road until
they got to the first block-house, and when within a few
yards of it, she called out something in her own language,
with the result that about twenty dwarfs, all armed with
bows, filed out of the door and grouped themselves in front
of the house for his inspection. So also on the return journey
to the fort, in answer to her cries, at short intervals, small
parties of from three to ten dwarfs were continually showing
themselves along the route, both to the right and left of
the path.

This was very satisfactory, for it evidently meant that
instead of being watched by a cordon of hostile savages,
the camp and the road were both guarded by the friendly
dwarfs. Also it meant that there was a state of war between
the two races, that the dwarfs were eager to go on with
the fight, and that they claimed the white men as their allies.

When John Smith made his report to a general meeting
the same evening, and told them all he had been shown,
he volunteered the opinion that the big savages were most
likely all driven out of the forest on the hither side of the
grassy plain, which by this time was probably burned clear
of cover. Everybody was most enthusiastically in favour of
a dash for the hills the next day, before the enemy had
time to prepare any systematic defence. It was decided to
do this, and John Smith was instructed to let the dwarfs
know of the intention at once. He therefore returned to his
quarters and carefully explained to the slave girl what was
intended, which was that a force of one hundred of the
white men would start before sunrise the next morning and

78

make straight for the town of their enemy, killing all of
them that they could. He also explained that he expected
the dwarfs to help fight. When the girl understood what
was contemplated, she shewed her joy by embracing his knees
and licking his boots, after which she led him once more
to the edge of the clearing, where, having called some of
her friends, she explained to them the situacion very care-
fully, so that her master was satisfied that they understood
all about it and would co-operate in the attack.

CHAPTER VIII.

As soon as John Smith got back to the stockade, the

force designed to attack the village was chosen by the

Admiral, and when all of the members were designated,

they were enjoined to go to rest at once, so that they might

be fresher for the start in the early morning, while those

who were to be left behind for the defence of the Fort and

ships, occupied themselves far into the night in preparing

the arms and two days' provisions for every man who was

going, as it was very uncertain what their luck might be.

Two hours before sunrise the next morning, the force was

mustered in the misty half light. It consisted of one hundred

men carefully picked out by Lewes de Havre, who was in

command of the expedition, and who was to be assisted by

John Smith as his lieutenant. Each man was armed with a

matchlock, a pistol and a sword, and carried in a bag at

his back two days' provisions, as well as his ammunition.

They all wore light steel morions and back and breast

^^ armour, as well as strong high boots, for it was wisely

I^Bdetermined that, even at the risk of tiring the men, it would

not be safe to go without this protection against the javelins

^^of the savages. The men, who had all had a good breakfast

^■of strong porridge before the muster, were in excellent

Bf spirits and knew exactly what they had to do. They would

march to the end of the forest and, if not interrupted, rest

for about an hour whilst they had another meal; then they

would advance across the burnt plain, and when they found

8o

the town, or whatever the trees on the other side concealed,
attack it, and make good a settlement for the night. The
following morning would determine their future action, word
of which they promised to send back to the fort if possible
by the dwarfs.

Exactly at four o'clock in the morning, James Neccy's
trumpets sounded the advance, and the column, headed by
Lewes de Havre and John Smith, the latter closely attended
by the dwarf girl, started to cross the clearing for the end
of the path leading into the forest; and as if the notes of
the trumpets had also summoned them from the forest, the
edge of the timber was seen to be lined with hundreds of
the dwarfs, who stepped out into the open, and flourishing
their bows over their heads, set up a queer little yell, which,
starting from the end of the path, rippled off to the right
and left far beyond the point of vision in the misty early
morning. It was like the front rank of a regiment of soldiers
numbering off their files. The dwarfs stood steady until the
head of the column entered the gloom of the forest, and
then, with a final flourish of their bows, they too, sprang
into the damp and lowering darkness.

It was a good omen and raised everybody's spirits, for
now all realised that the little band was to be supported
in the enterprise by allies, who were especially well adapted
to protect their flanks during the march through the forest,
a part of the work which was the most trying to the temper
and nerves of the men ; and as they gaily stepped out into
the forest, they were cheered by the sight of three or four
little black men keeping level with the head of the column
on either side of the path through the cleared part of the
forest, and doubted not but that the line was continued far
out on either wing in the dense undergrowth, where it could
not be seen.

8 1

Two hours' march brought them to the first stockade on
the path, and promptly on their approach, the twenty dwarfs
who had occupied it came out, and going down right and
left of the column prepared to follow on in the rear. But
first they indulged in a short rest, and then the march was
continued until the second block-house and the swamp had
been passed. At the second block-house another little band
of dwarfs was found and duly tacked on to the rear of
the column.

And now that they were approaching the end of the forest,
some anxiety was felt by the leaders as to what might be
the state of the plain, and whether they were to be allowed
to cross it without interference. It was getting on towards
mid-day and the time for a meal and a good rest before
the attempt was made; so a halt was called. Haversacks
were opened, and after two or three men had been posted
fifty yards in advance, the whole party sat down on the
ground for an hour's rest and a good repast. But John
Smith's anxiety would not allow him to rest, so snatching
a hasty mouthful, and getting the girl to call up ten of the
dwarfs, he went cautiously forward over the intervening
half mile to the edge of the forest to reconnoitre. He himself
went very carefully, but he noticed that his escort took no
particular precautions, chattering amongst themselves quite
loudly; so he surmised that all the big savages were out of

I the forest, which indeed proved to be the case, for on his
return to the troop, and when they finally advanced, nothing
was seen of them until they had all got clear of the forest.
When they were all out, the formation, from a column
with three files marching abreast, as was necessary in the
narrow path, was altered to that of a compact body having
a front of twenty-five men, marching four deep, with the
two commanders posted on either wing.

82

As far as the eye could see, to right and left, and up to
the trees on the other side of what was two days ago a
waving sea of beautiful plumy grass, the whole ascending
plain to the low timber-crowned hills was now a blackened
field of ashes, with no cover for so much as a rabbit; and
if the big savages were to attack them with anything like
vigour and in their overwhalming numbers, both the leaders
felt that their situation was desperate; but they made their
arrangements for the best way to meet the danger, and, as
the event proved, with success.

When they had got well out into the plain, the dwarfs
began to appear at the edge of the forest, so the white
men halted for them to come up, and to see what formation
they intended to assume. First, John Smith called up the
girl, who was apparently the only woman in the force, and
who, not to be behindhand in the fight, had armed herself
with a bow and a tomahawk like her tribesmen. At her
master's request for information as to the direction of the
town to be assaulted, she pointed to a break in the line of
trees in front of them, and to this point the march was
directed.

The dwarfs, to the number, as far as could be judged, of
four or five hundred, had meanwhile all emerged and drawn
up behind the matchlockmen, but without duplicating their
ranks, so that they stretched out in a long thin line to
right and left. In this formation the advance wa3 commenced,
but it did not continue for long, for either the dwarfs were
afraid to meet the bigger race in the open, or the present
formation did not suit their war tactics. At any rate, for
some reason, they gradually closed in, until they were all
marching in a compact crowd behind the matchlockmen.
Then, when they had advanced for about a mile into the
open, they first caught sight of the enemy, about three

83

miles off, as they were just emerging from the low place
in the line of timber. Gradually their numbers increased,
until it seemed to the leaders of the little band of white
men that nearly a thousand must be in view; and these
soon began to form into battle array. Slowly the mass took
upon itself definite shape, and at last it assumed the appea-
rance of a great compact triangle or wedge, with the apex
directed to the exact centre of the band opposing it, and
in this formation commenced to move deliberately down
the hill.

A few seconds sufficed for the quick military intellect of
Lewes de Havre to grasp the situation and devise the best
means to meet it. It was evidently the intention of the
savage enemy to advance deliberately, until within a short
distance, and then with a rushing charge, to overwhelm
them, probably without throwing a single javelin. It was a
well-conceived idea, and under some circumstances might
prove successful, if their enemies were foolish enough to
stand still in a compact mass to be trodden under foot.
But sharper intellects were at work, guided by a leader who
had been trained in the open battle-fields of European
warfare, and quickly John Smith understood his colleague's
plan. None too soon did they commence to alter their
formation, for the little dwarfs behind the rampart of white
men were already beginning to show signs of fear. Perhaps
they had before, when driven from their forests into the
open, experienced the rush of such a wedge of athletic
warriors, whose charge their feeble little arrows, however
dangerous they might be ultimately by reason of the poison,
could not stop; nor could they prove so effective within a
short distance as the broad-bladed javelins; any more than
their puny little tomahawks would be of any use to them
at close quarters. Perhaps they meant to indicate this, when

84

they started their advance behind the white men from the
forest, in extended order.

At any rate, when they saw their leaders take up positions
exactly in the center of the front rank, and deploy their
men, so that they ultimately assumed a long array of a
single rank, they quickly extended their own party, so as
to even overlap the front rank at either end, and they
looked very much happier after the change had been made.

All the time this change of formation was being made,
the advance was not delayed, for it was held that any
hesitation shewn would have a bad effect in encouraging
the enemy, as well as in disheartening the dwarfs, so that,
as the former still came on, the battle became every moment
more imminent.

Still either side continued to advance, until only about
half a mile separated the opposing armies, and it could be
seen from the agitation and waving of spears, as well as by
the excited shouts in the ranks of the wedge of big savages,
that they were preparing for their rush. It could be "felt"
also from behind, for there was an agitation and a murmur,
as well as a half-nervous turn to the rear amongst the
dwarfs, who began to double and treble their files behind
the single line of white men. John Smith saw the flinching,
and quickly turning round, he thrust the slave girl to the
front, and adjusting her arrow to the bow-string, he left her
two or three paces in advance of the line, from which position,
as she continued to proudly advance, she shouted back
some few words to her tribesmen that put heart into them;
for they grasped their bows tightly, and flourishing them
over their heads, answered her with the little cry, which
rippled off to the right and left, by which they had once
before expressed their readiness to fight with the white
warriors.

85

And now the critical moment approached nearer and
nearer when the struggle of the few, backed by the feeble
little men of the forest, but armed with the science of
civilization and governed by quick brains trained to war,
was to be decided with the strong savages fighting on their
favourite battle-field of the open plain, and doubly armed
in their utter disregard of life.

Suddenly a great savage springs ahead, a dozen paces
before the apex of the wedge, and holding up his sheaf of
javelins above his head, he shouts an order, which stops the
phalanx dead in their tracks. Then he commences to slowly
chant what is apparently a war song, beating time by
raising his feet and stamping on the burnt ground, first
with the right foot and then the left, all the time facing
his own men and with his back to his enemies. Gradually
the time of his chant increases and gradually, rank by rank,
his followers join in the chorus, marking time in cadence
with their chief, until at the end of five minutes or so there
is a mighty roar of sound from the serried battle of naked,
black, savage life, and a trembling of the earth, as, like one
man, first their right feet and then their left fall with a
thud to the ground.

They are fast working themselves into a frenzy of valour
and madness, and their rush when it comes will surely be
irresistible : and come it will, for suddenly the gr-eat chief,
without losing the rhythm of his chant, and without for an
instant missing his step, which is now fast and furious, turns
to face his foes, and first uttering a great shout, he casts a
javelin before him a full thirty fathoms, and then springing
high into the air, he starts forward at a run, as if eager to
embrace the unknown death which is awaiting him. And
after him, with a mighty shout, dash his tribesmen in the
headlong charge of fanatical enthusiasm or, may it be, the

I
I

86

patriotic ardour of a strong people eager to defend their
hearths and homes from the encroachment of an aHen and
calculating race, bent only on the sordid accumulation of
wealth, and eager only to gain possession of a new market,
before the traders of another nation discover it, and by
offering their goods at a lower rate, spoil the great profits
to be made by the first arrivals. No matter to the merchant
the expense of savage life, if his beads and his cheap linens
will bring him ivory and gold and slaves; his is not the
conscience that will flinch or fear retributive justice, provided
he hnes his pockets with ducats.

In such a strain as this does John Smith, the sentimental
dreamer, interpolate his description of the fight; and so, as
a true historian of his adventures, it behoves me to follow
his example. But it would be well to return to the battle,
and describe how the headlong charge of the big savages
was met.

Like the savages, Lewes de Havre and his men were
marking time, but quietly, and with a fixed and definite
purpose. First, the hne was deployed, until an interval of
about three yards was left vacant between the white men
all along the line, while religiously the little coloured men
followed the movement, sidling out to right and left, until
the whole front overlapped at either end the width of the
base of the compact triangle of the foe. Then John Smith
and Lewes, who were stationed side by side in the centre
of the line, deliberately commenced a retrograde movement
by stepping backwards, whilst the extreme ends of the
line continued to advance, with the result that the two
halves of the force, working on the twenty-sixth man in
the centre of each half as a pivot, swung half forward,
and the other half back ; and by the time the savages started
on their rushing charge, there was prepared for them a

87

funnel-shaped death-trap, exactly adapted to fit their wedge.
And this owing to their frenzy, and to the fact that care
had been taken that the movement was deliberately carried
out, with every face turned to them, they had not perceived
the full significance of, until the apex of their array had
passed the widely-extended lips of the funnel; and then it
was too late to stop, for the pressure from behind pushed
forward the leading men, so that even if their commander
wished to halt or to alter his formation, he could not do
so. They were bound to go forward. Frantically their
leader endeavoured to extend and open out the front of his
regiment, and charge to the right and left to meet the two
wings of his adversary; it was too late; and he was one of
the first to fall, and to be trampled out of all semblance of
humanity by his own people.

So soon as Lewes saw that the wedge had entered the
funnel, he gave the signal by a shrill whistle for firing to
commence, and as the onrushing foemen advanced opposite
each pair of matchlockmen to the right and left, the latter
fired into the head of the mass, deliberately and with precision,
for they were the picked marksmen of the expedition, and
few shots were wasted. Indeed many of the heavy bullets
did more than their allotted share of the havoc, by disabling
more than one foeman ; until the point of the wedge became
blunted and altogether disorganised, which speedily had the
effect of demoralising the whole force, for the bravest of
the savages were in the van.

As the firing commenced, John Smith and Lewes clasped
hands and said a last word of good-bye, for it was uncertain
if they would come out of the fight alive, and then separating
again, they commenced to open out the funnel by swinging
back the wings, now on the extreme ends as pivots, for it
was quite certain that the one round from the matchlocks

8S

would not stop the mad rush; nor even when the enemy,
by reason of their advance, became more involved and at
closer quarters, so that the pistols and the bows of the
dwarfs could be effectively used, would they be able to stop.
A way must be made for them to pass trough, and then
the crux of the whole battle would be the moment when,
having passed trough between the ranks of the invaders,
they might re-form in time to charge back again before the
white men were able to re-load.

It was a critical time, and there was some reason for the
Captains to shake hands and commend one another to God's
mercy, when they separated to swing their lines apart; for,
if after the savages had passed, they turned back quickly
and charged, before preparation could be made to receive
them, the two leaders would be the first men to bear the
brunt. But the savages were being badly stricken, for now
the pistols were beginning to play on them, and the dwarfs,
seeing the dire results of the matchlock fire on the head
of the phalanx, where all the best men of their enemies
were concentrated, had plucked up courage and begun to
pour their little dart-like arrows into the closely-packed
ranks, so that the white men got a little breathing space
to reload, and as the pistols were handier and quicker to
manipulate, most of the men first turned their attention to
them. But it was difficult, for the big savages, understanding
by this time what sort of a trap they had got into, began
now to throw in their javelins, and many of the dwarfs,
who were entirely unprotected, went down as well as two
or three of the white men, who got hit on the unprotected
part of the thighs and the face; and once or twice small
parties of the savages got together and attempted to charge,
but their hearts failed them, and they got nearer the line
than twenty paces, from which position, after throwing a

89

javelin each, they turned back, not being able to face the
stinging little arrows which they knew meant death. Therefore
the almost ridiculous — if it were not so tragic — sight was seen
of men in the act of poising their javelins, suddenly stop,
snatch a little arrow from their flesh, and grotesquely contort
themselves in attempts to get at wounds which were more
often than not situated in parts of their bodies to which
they could not get their mouths to suck the poison. But
when they were able to reach the spot, they bit out great
gobbits of flesh, so as to allow the blood to flow freely, for
they were evidently well aware of the danger. Probably they
had never before met the dwarfs in the open plain under
such circumstances as the present, when the little men had
found courage enough to face them ; for it was evident that,
it was only owing to the support given by the white men,
and even then reluctantly, that the little men plucked up
heart the fight in the open. But now, when they saw the
damage done by the firearms, they were only too eager,
and if they had not been restrained, would have rushed on
to the enemy with their little tomahawks.

And now the base of the phalanx having passed the
extremities of the lines of white men and dwarfs, these lines
began to approach each other in the rear of the enemy,
with the intention of forming a barrier between them and
the road to the town. Slowly and deliberately the manoeuvre
was carried out, the white men loading their pistols and
firing independently as opportunity oflered, and the little
savages, who intelligently followed every movement, raining
in a flight of arrows whenever the enemy got together in
groups with the intention of charging the line. It became
at last almost a massacre, for the big men had no chance,
the pistols and bows carried further than they could cast
their javelins, and early in the fight all their chiefs and

90

brave men had gone down, so that there was nobody to
rally them and organise a decisive charge.

It was with no little relief that the two wings of the
adventurers joined up again and formed a continuous line
behind the first battle ground. John Smith and Lewes
simultaneously stepped out to the front from their respective
ends and quickly ran along the line to meet in the centre,
ordering their men to charge their matchlocks as quickly
as they could, for the cowed enemy were retiring out of
range of the pistols and bows, and seemed to be gathering
together for another charge, which would be serious if there
was no musketry fire to meet it. The little men too had
used nearly all their arrows.

Up to this point of the fight only two white men had
been killed and six wounded, two seriously by javelins, one
in the face and the other in the right; but many more of
the dwarfs, who were unprotected by armour or clothes, had
been killed and wounded ; but these little warriors were very
jubilant, for certainly over a hundred of their enemies lay
dead on the field, and many more were continually falling
to the ground, as the poison of the arrows with which they
were wounded had its effect. Moreover the enemy were
evidently, and for the first time, showing fear of the dwarfs,
or perhaps of their new allies. Before they were able to
present a new front and prepare for a fresh charge all the
matchlocks and pistols were reloaded, and the white leaders
thought it better that they should commence the attack in
their turn, and perhaps with one well-directed volley finish
the rout of their foes, who were still within range of the
matchlocks.

Lewes therefore gave the word for every other man to
drop his matchlock to the present and fire, and then, after
an interval of a minute or two, for the other half of the

91

force to fire. The effect of these two volleys was disastrous
for the enemy; they were fired right into their crowded
array, and it may be safely said that every bullet, on
the average, hit more than one man, so that the confusion
in their ranks precluded any hopes of their being able to
again rally for a charge. The word was then given for a
counter charge, and the matchlocks were laid on the ground,
as they would only encumber the men. The line moved
steadily forward, with the intention of pouring in a volley
from the pistols and bows as soon as they got within range,
and then making a rush sword in hand, which could not
fail to drive the remnant into the forest, even if they were
not killed, every one of them.

But first there was a serious obstacle to overcome, for as soon
as the advancing line reached the ground which was thickly
strewn with the dead and wounded enemy, these latter
justified their savage instincts by fighting to the last, even
the dying striving to stab their foes as they passed.

It was cruel work killing these half-dead men, and the
white men revolted from it: not so, however, their impish
allies, for at a word from the girl, — who throughout the
fight had acted intelligently as John Smith's lieutenant, and
passed his orders on to her tribesmen, — about half the
dwarfs sprang through the white men's line, and with their
tomahawks pecked at the skulls of their wounded and dying
enemies and enjoyed the sport, two or three of them dancing
round a wounded man dodging his feeble efforts to use his
javelin against them, and all the time taunting him, until a
blow from behind finished him by splitting his skull.

It was horrible and sickening work, this massacring wounded
men, but after all it was the kindest in the end, even if
there was not the necessity to do it in self-defence; for the
poor savages were wounded to the death by the poisoned

92

arrows, and killing them was thus really only shortening
their agony. Thus the advance progressed steadily until
within twenty paces of the diminished army of hesitating
and frightened savages, when a halt was called, and in
reply to the few and badly-aimed javelins wich were cast
at them, a last volley from every pistol, and a flight of
arrows was poured in, and then, with a shout, swords were
drawn, and the line rushed on. Few of the enemy except
the wounded waited for the impact: they were fleeter of
foot than the heavily-armed whites or their little allies, and
perhaps a hundred, all that was left of the fine regiment,
numbering nearly a thousand, that had started the fight
only about two hours before, escaped into the forest, hotly
pursued by the exultant dwarfs, who would hold them at
a disadvantage and probably account for most of them
before nightfall.

John Smith succeeded, with the girl's help, in restraining
about one hundred of the dwarfs from joining in the pursuit,
and writing a short note to James Neccy describing the
fight, he sent six of them back to the fort to let him know
how they had fared. He could not as yet say how or when they
would return, for they knew not what awaited them on the
other side of the open ground. And so once more they went
back over the battle-field, the dwarfs insulting their dead foes,
assuring themselves that every man was dead and carefully
picking up the spent arrows as they passed, until they got
back to the place where their matchlocks were left. Here
they rested for half-an-hour, and then buried their three
dead comrades, deep enough to save them from the beaks
and talons of the vultures, which were already hovering
over the slain, and from the teeth of wild beasts, which
would without doubt congregate as soon as night fell.

It was by this time the middle of the afternoon, and the

93

men were so tired that it seemed inadvisable to go on any-
further that day. They knew not whether more fighting
awaited them when they got to the town, or whether they
would find it deserted. All things taken into consideration,
it was thought best to move up to the further edge of the
plain and there bivouac for the night, as where they were
there was no wood to make fires, nor water to drink, and
they made out from the girl that there was a stream under
the trees. The project was explained to the dwarfs, with
the girl's assistance, and seemed to tally with their wishes ;
so the word was given march. But the dwarfs hung back,
and the reason was soon explained: good food was lying
out there on the plain waiting to be eaten, and already the
vultures had commenced the feast. The white men had eaten
once before the fight and had with them more foodto satisfy
their craving appetites : why should not their allies follow their
own custom and feast on their dead enemies, as they had
always been in the habit of doing? The girl plainly explained
this to her master, who, when he understood her argument,
could not refute it; but when he signed to her to go with
her own people, she refused, and expressed disgust at the
thought of the contemplated feast of her tribesmen. And
so the two races parted company, the whites marching on
towards their bivouac under the trees, and the dwarfs back
to their cannibal feast, only the girl followed like a dog
close at the heels of her master,
^■b An hour's march brought them to the edge of the plain
^'before nightfall, and there they found a broad but shallow
^^stream, so that they were able to satisfy their thirst; and
^^Beeing no signs of an enemy, they decided to eat their meal
^■on its banks.
^B On the other side of the river the country appeared more

94

short green grass, which the girl made them understand was
the pasturage of the herds belonging to the big savages,
whose town was not far off. They indulged in a refreshing
wash in the clear water which made them ravenous for their
food, and having dispatched this, they collected a quantity
of firewood, which was plentiful enough, the prairie fire
having scorched and dried up the trees on the edge of the
plain. They carried the firewood back half a mile and prepared
to bivouac in the open. It was their intention to start again
before daylight, so dividing the night into three watches,
one-third of the men kept guard whilst the remainder slept.
They slept in their harness, with their matchlocks and
pistols loaded for fear of a surprise, but they were undisturbed
except by the dwarfs, who came up in groups of twenty to
fifty at a time all through the night, those who had persued
the enemy into the forest, as well as those who had remained
with the white men, looking as if they were gorged to
repletion as they passed the bivouac, to sleep beside the
stream under the shadow of the trees.

I
I

CHAPTER IX.

Before sunrise the next morning the white men had finished
their meal of manioc cakes and dried fish, and were ready
for a start. The army of dwarfs were also ready waiting for
their allies beside the stream, and in the dim misty morning
light they all splashed through the shallow water. They
marched for about two miles, through beautiful park-like
lands, over luxuriant grassy turf and amongst scattered
clumps of beautiful trees, many of them bearing fruits which
the dwarfs collected .and offered to their white friends; until
at last they came within sight of what was evidently the
savages' town — a large circular enclosure, roughly fenced
with bushes and boughs of trees, probably between two or
three miles in diameter. Over the fence could be seen the
tops of the round, thatched huts of the natives, and in the
centre what from the distance looked like a citadel, or
perhaps the chief's house, enclosed with a higher fence of
upright stakes and built on a little hill or mound.

It was uncertain what sort of a reception the conquering
brce would receive at the hands of the inhabitants, and
every precaution was taken to avoid an ambush or surprise.
And thus they advanced up to within half a mile of the
nclosure and opposite to what appeared to be the entrance,
hen at last the inhabitants began to appear. Lewes halted
is force to see what they meant to do, and every man
had his gun ready and his match glowing. First an old

96

man came out of the gate, fantastically decked out like a
Jack o'the green with a cloak made of grasses stained in
different colours, and wearing on his head a huge bonnet
made of the heads of what looked like some big sort of
corn, with beautiful golden-coloured tassels waving in the
wind and slung across his breast and back, like a sword-
belt, a string of human skulls the end of which dragged on
the ground, representing all that remained of over twenty
men or women. He was a hideous specimen of humanity,
and the dwarf girl clung to John Smith shuddering when
she saw him, in fact the whole company of dwarfs showed
fear of him. He carried in his right hand a very long-
handled spear, having a broad and long blade which glit-
tered in the sun like gold.

This hideous chief, or king, was followed out of the enclo-
sure by about a hundred stalwart warriors, armed each
with three or four javelins. These men drew up in a double
line behind him, facing the invaders. When they were in
position the old man began to chant a lugubrious sort of
song, walking backwards and forwards the length of his
line, and stopping every two or three yards to point with
his spear at the white man who was then opposite him.
All the time this was going on the dwarfs were cowering
behind the soldiers with fear and even the latter began to
think about enchantments and witchcraft, and to urge their
leaders to give the word to fire; but they restrained them,
thinking that perhaps this was a preliminary to surrender.
After he had finished his song, and pointed his spear at
about half the white men in the whole length of the line,
the old man returned to the centre of his own array, and
two fine-looking girls came from behind the line of warriors,
where they had been concealed, and delivered something
into his hands, taking from him at the same time his spear

97

and necklace of skulls. The old wizard then stepped forward
to the middle of the space between the opposing forces,
and commenced to wave his arms about, holding in either
hand what looked like a long sword. As he waved, first
slowly and then faster, a sort of rumbling noise came from
him which gradually increased in intensity, until it became
a roar of noise like angry bulls bellowing; and then the
line of warriors advanced with a sort of hissing scream,
which was too much for the dwarfs, who as soon as the
old man began his antics had commenced to slink off
further and further to the rear, showing every symptom of
fright. The charge of the warriors was the signal for a head-
long flight on their part, and the line of white men was
left to bear the brunt of it. As soon as the savages got
within range, Lewes gave the word to fire, and the threatened
charge collapsed, only about ten of the fine line of men
struggling forward, to be shot down by the pistols before
they could cast a spear. The old wizard fell at the same
time as if dead, which both of the leaders regretted, as
they had ordered their men not to fire at him, hoping to
take him alive. Then, after waiting to reload their pieces,
the white men advanced again, and — for it seemed the kindest
thing to do — passed their swords through those of the war-
riors who were not yet dead, except the old man, who, on
being examined, proved to be unhurt and as well as ever.
He was a very hideous old creature, when he was divested
of all his finery and stood up naked for inspection. His
body was scored all over with raised scars, and he compa-
red very badly with the clean-limbed and well-favoured girls,
his attendants, one of whom had been killed outright. The

I other, who had only been wounded by a pistol ball through
the fleshy part of her right arm, was now led forward by
a matchlockman in all the statuesque beauty of her naked-

I

ness, still clutching the long-handled spear the great blade
of which John Smith at once pronounced to be of pure gold.
The wands which the old man had flourished, proved to be
peculiarly curved slats of a whitish wood, pierced with
several holes and very elastic. These, together with the
spear, were given in charge of a sailor, while others were
told off to guard the old man and the girl.

When the dwarf girl — • who, true to her master, hat not
run off with her tribesmen — saw that the wizard had been
stripped and rendered powerless, she went up to him, timidly
at first, but soon gaining confidence, and began to jeer at
him, pinching him and insulting him in many ways until
her master was obliged to restrain her and order her off to
call up her fellows, who had not retreated far. These coming
up, were struck with wonderment at seeing the slaughtered
enemy and the old savage wizard alive and a prisoner, for
they evidently thought that he was invincible and certainly
more of a god than a man, for they were, even now that
he was a captive, almost afraid to approach him. But they
showed no hesitation about advancing on the town, and
would have rushed on in front of the white men if they
had not been restrained. But this was not thought advisable
by the leaders, as they were likely, in their excited state, to
spare neither women nor children, if, as it seemed probable,
the place was now undefended; so they ordered them to
be kept back. But it was of no avail, for as soon as ever
the white men had got through the opening in the hedge
and entered the town, the dwarfs crowded after them, and
scattering right and left amongst the huts, commenced to
kill all they met, irrespective of age or sex, tearing down
the frail walls of the huts and tomahawking every one who
appeared.

There were many young men, fine stalwart-looking fel-

99

lows, amongst the women and children in the town, probably
malingerers who had no stomach for fighting and sick men.
At any rate there was no more resistance. The loss of their
chiefs, and in fact all their soldiers, had completely cowed
the rest, and before the white men had traversed half the
distance up the open space between the gate of the town
and the enclosure in the centre, more than a hundred women
and children and a few men rushed up to them and im-
plored their protection from the fury of the dwarfs. These
fugitives were placed in the middle of the troop and the
dwarfs driven back with as little force as possible, for
they had been such good allies that no one wished to
anger them.

But the white men saw that there was reason for their
fury as soon as they got up to the fence of the inner
enclosure, for there a horrible sight met their eyes. Right
and left of there closed gate in the high palisade fence was
a heap of butchered and fearfully mutilated bodies, all of
the same race as the dwarfs. Festering in corruption, — at
least the lower layers of the piles were — it looked as if
for a month past two or three had been killed every day
and cast on the heaps, for the bottom layers were almost
unrecognisable as human beings. The flesh was rotting off
the bones, whereas on the top of each heap lay bodies
freshly killed and worst sight of all, on either side of the
gate, securely tied to the palisades of the fence, appeared
the bodies of two young dwarf girls, the trunks split open
from the chin to below the navel, the viscerae dragged out
and hanging down to the ground. Is was a horrible sight,
and one well calculated to raise the worst passions of the
dwarf army, which now, finding itself in the role of a con-
quering force in a conquered town, could not be expected
to cunduct itself with moderation in the hour of its triumph,

lOO

and in the face of such evidence of the maltreatment of
its kinsmen and kinswomen.

The chief fury of the Httle men seemed to be directed
against the old wizard, now a captive; so at the instigation
of the slave girl, and in order to divert their allies from a
general slaughter of all the women and children in the
place, as well as by way of meting out fair punishment to
him for the cruelty which they did not doubt had been
practised at his instigation, John Smith and Lewes decided
to abandon him to the dwarfs and his fate. He was there-
fore passed over to them, to their intense gratification, and
whilst they were deliberating as to the best way to deal
with him, in order to make his death as distasteful to him,
and in consequence as gratifying to themselves, as possible,
the white men turned their attention to the citadel. They
did not anticipate any resistance, nor did they experience
any. When they broke in, the reason for this was obvious :
there were no men there, only women.

The enclosure was circular, having a diameter of about
a thousand hundred yards, and was divided by concentric
rings of strong fencing into three circles. The outermost of
these was divided into roomy stalls, in each of which was
a fine cow, some with young calves by their sides. The next
was occupied by a large herd of she goats; while the
third and innermost was divided into small enclosures. These
were the homes of the ladies of the harem of the chief, or
chiefs, of the tribe. Each little patch was carefully planted
with vegetables, fruit trees and even flowers, and at the
back of each was a little hut, occupied by a cowering and
frightened girl, who seemed as if she thought that death
was the least evil which she could expect.

The adventurers entered the enclosure as they had the
tov/n itself, b)^ the eastern gate, and followed a wide road.

lor

which appeared to divide both the town and the citadel
into two equal halves. Along the centre of this was led a
fine canal of water, which gave off branches right and left,
as well for the supply of the town as of the citadel. It was
clean and limpid water until the centre of the citadel was
reached, but thence it commenced to become contaminated,
until it left the town as a sewer, carrying the filth from the
place, which was not only inhabited by human beings, but
was also crowded with cattle and goats.

The inner circle of women's huts enclosed an open space
of some considerable size, with the stream running through
the centre from east to west. The exact centre of the enclosure
was occupied by a hideously-carved wooden figure, or idol,
double-fronted, with one face looking to the north and one
to the south. This figure was grotesque in the extreme and
represented two men standing back to back, more than
double life-size, each provided with a large and sharp bull's
horn sticking out in front of him. These were evidently
used as instruments of execution; for a woman of the tribe
of the big savages was hanging impaled and dead on the
north figure, when it was first discovered. This idol, or
whatever it was, was enclosed by a fence made of many
splendid elephants' tusks, planted points upwards in the
ground, and having openings facing the four cardinal points
of the compass, where the stream passed through from east
to west under the double figure, which was erected over
the water, and north and south, giving access to the idol,
so that the first contamination of the stream should be
caused by the decomposition of the victims immolated. The
whole of this temple enclosure and the fence of elephants'
tusks were covered in by a huge shed thatched with palm
leaves: the ivory was not therefore damaged by the sun,
and was of great value.

102

Outside the enclosure, on the north and south sides facing
the idol, were built large beehive-shaped huts, apparently
the official residences of the chief of the tribe who was
killed in the battle on the plain, and of the old wizard.
These huts also contained many fine elephants' tusks, but
nothing else of value. Nowhere could the adventurers find
any gold, nor could John Smith, by questioning the dwarf
girl, understand that any of it was used by the people, the
blade of the spear and one other weapon being the only
gold which they found.

The women in the huts, nearly a hundred of them in all,
were found to be in the full vigour of their youth, some
with young babies and some without, but all appearing to
be in a very healthy and clean condition, with smooth
skins, rounded limbs, and generally a well-fed look about
them ; which was explained by the dwarf girl, who intimated
that they lived on the milk of the cows and goats.

They were without exception as naked as they were born,
without an ornament on their bodies of any sort, except
that those living on the north side of the enclosure had two
long horizontal scars on their foreheads, and those on the
south side two vertical ones — seemingly the marks of the
two different chiefs under whose protection they were living.
It was afterwards found that every woman in the town
bore either one or the other of these marks.

John Smith and Lewes came to the conclusion that the
two chiefs of the tribe exercised between them some sort
of "droit de seigneur"; and that their citadel with its garrison
of women and cows and she-goats, and with its hideous
idol in the midst, was actually a temple devoted to the
worship of sex. This supposition was further confirmed by
finding in sheds behind the chief's houses, four fine-looking
bulls and as many hegoats. They found also graneries con-

I03

taining several sorts of grain and manioc roots, besides large
stores of dried plantains.

It was by now midday, and the time had arrived to
decide upon what the next proceeding was to be. There
was a great store not only of cattle and corn, but also of
slaves and ivory, all ready to their hands and indusputably
theirs by right of conquest. The question now was how to
get their newly acquired wealth, or a fair proportion of it,
down to the ships. The dwarfs were also fairly entitled to
a large share of the spoils, not only from the fact that
they had fought well and earned it, but also in compen-
sation for the oppression under which the stronger race had
held them. It was greatly feared that they might be prompted
to revenge themselves on the captive women and children
for the wrongs they had suffered, to which the climax had
been put by their not finding any of their friends alive in
the town, but, instead, only bodies scattered about in all
directions. Evidently, before the savage army had marched
out to fight in the plain, all the slaves had been put to
death, either to terrorise the dwarfs, or as a measure of
safety. The women in the citadel, and in fact the whole of
the people left in the town, were now submissive enough,
for they seemed only to expect death at the hands of the
conquerors, and therefore awaited their fate stoically. Life
had few charms for them apparently; nor was it strange
that it should be so, for death was so constantly before
them that it must have seemed merely an incident to be
endured. The dwarfs had, apparently, for the time glutted
themselves with revenge, by ruthlessly killing many of the
.unresisting inhabitants and, finally, the wizard chief, whom
they had literally divided among them.

John Smith went with -a guard of fifty matchlockmen to
walk through the town, leaving the remainder with Lewes

I04

to kill some cows and goats and cook a meal in the citadel.
He first passed through a crowd of fugitive women and
children, with not a few fine-looking, but unarmed, men
amongst them, cowering at the gate. These great men he
gathered from the slave girl were the "husbands" of the
community. They were much finer-looking fellows than the
soldiers: they were fed up and pampered, but not allowed
to risk their lives fighting, for they were the aristocracy of
the place and were, like all the women, marked on the
forehead with either the horizontal or vertical lines; probably
the two chiefs were chosen from their ranks.

Beyond the fugitives, he discovered the dwarfs very happily
engaged round great fires in the broad eastern street, roasting
large pieces of meat cut from several dead bullocks and
goats, which they had slaughtered. They were apparently
quite free from any sense of danger. As he passed by, they
held up for his inspection small bits of bone which they
wore tied round their necks, and which, he soon discovered,
were all that remained of the wizard chief, who had been
torn and worried to death, his flesh eaten by whoever could
get at him to snatch a morsel, and his joints divided, the
larger bones being cut into many short lengths, so that all
should have a memento of the important victory.

John Smith and his company marched right round the
town, keeping about equidistant between the citadel and
the outer fences. He found a good many savages, mostly
women and children, who wxre hiding in their huts.

The dwellings of the inhabitants were low beehive-shaped
huts, thatched with grass or palm leaves, having low doorways
through which it was necessary to crawl on hands and knees.
All of them faced due east, and it was noticable that the
eastern half of the town was much better looked after than
the western, where the huts were smaller and more squalid.

I05

There, also, the inhabitants were older men and women,
and their gardens were ill-kept. It therefore appeared as if
the whole population was graded, from the young and
vigorous men and women and cattle and goats, living in the
east; to the worn out and useless people in the west who
gradually crawled to the edge of the stream and died at
its point of exit from the town, to be carried out of the
way by its waters with the rest of the pollution of the city.

Our sentimental hero has recorded some interesting thoughts
of his own on the subject. He seemed to think that the
arrangement had something to do with the worship of the
sun. His imagination led him on to quite a long treatise
about it. He considers the sun as the type of life for these
poor savages, rising young and vigorous in the morning in
the east, and battling through his day of storm and shadow,
or sailing serenely through a cloudless sky, only to sink at
last, defeated and worn out, to disappear in the west, to go
through a nightly rest and preparation for another life the
next day — a course typical of the life of the poor savages,
ignorant in everything else but the fact of living and rene-
wing themselves.

He imagines the girl child born, and passing her young
life in the darkness and obscurity of an unheeded childhood,
amongst the gardens and byways of the town, to be taken
at the dawn of her woman's career to the high place in the
temple of sex, there to undergo preparation for her journey
through life ; and thence one morning at sunrise, in the
eastern gate of the city, full of hope and knowledge of
herself, to be delivered into the hands of a husband, to
fulfil with him her destiny in the scheme of the universe:
then, after a period of active life, to drift with the sun
slowly and surely to the west, where at last, like him, she
dies and is lost, cast out of the City of Life to rottenness

io6

and corruption, until, in the fullness of time, from rottenness
and corruption a new incarnation of life and energy rises
like a Phoenix, and spreads its wings in another phase of
vitality — disunited atoms from the waste heap of decom-
position far in the west, which, after many cycles of change
and travel, unite again in the east to evolve the newborn
life of the babe, and like the Sun, again to rise to Life,
and Light, and Power.

CHAPTER X.

They decided that it was better to spend another night
in the town, as it was too late to make the return journey-
to the fort, and the dwarfs certainly were not in a fit state
to travel, for they had gorged themselves with meat, and
were sleeping as happily in the midst of their foes, as if
the latter were all dead. But there still remained more than
a hundred of the great men, to say nothing of women, and
these might well be expected to feel revengeful for the loss
of most of the manhood of their tribe.

The adventurers were astonished beyond measure at the
indifference to danger displayed by their allies, until on a
closer examination they discovered that, although the bulk
of the dwarfs were sleeping on the ground, in the middle
of the broad east road of the town, there was a row of
watchful sentries posted just off the road on either side in
the gardens, and that every sleeper grasped in his hand
his little bow and bundle of arrows, ready to spring at once
to the alert if the alarm were given.

Their own men had eaten a hearty meal in the citadel,
and had refreshed themselves with copious draughts of fresh
and warm milk, they therefore proceeded to pick out about
a hundred of the finest and strongest of the men, who, with
the women, crowded round the gate of the citadel, and
thrust them inside the gate by force, for they showed great
reluctance to enter this, to them, apparently forbidden place.

io8

Having got them to the central open space around the
sanctuary of the idol, they made them sit down in rows often,
and tied them together to long cords by halters passed
round their necks. A large supply of this cordage was found
in the chiefs' hues: it had been used, most likely, by the
big savages to secure their own slaves. They also tied each
man's legs together at the ankles for better security, and
then supplied them with the remains of their own meal of
cow's meat and milk; but they took no trouble to secure
the women of the citadel, who squatted about in their
gardens, stupidly watching the proceedings.

They then selected fifty of the finest of the elephants'
tusks, filled fifty mat bags with the Indian corn and other
grain, and deposited either a tusk or a bag of corn beside
each bound man, ready for an early start in the morning.
They also intended to claim the assistance of the dwarfs
to drive along a herd of cattle and goats, and if possible
to make some of the strongest of the women carry loads
with them down to the fort; for they saw no reason why
they should not keep some of the men, at least, as slaves,
as they would do excellently to work the oars of the Peter
ASMODEUS, and each of the galleons could also take a few
of them to do the dirty work of the ships.

Having thus made everything ready for an early start,
they, as on the night before, divided their force into three
groups, so that one-third should be on guard whilst the
other two-thirds slept, in the open space between the centre
and the eastern gate. They kept large fires alight all night,
as much to overpower the horrible stench of the place and
drive away the persistent and venomous gnats, as to shed
light on the surroundings so that they might quickly detect
any suspicious movement. And thus they rested in the
citadel of their conquered foes until daybreak of the next day.

109

In the early dawn the sentries observed the savage women
creeping out of their huts, and at once informed Lewes, so
that if any treachery was contemplated they might be
prepared ; but as it did not look as if any harm was intended,
the two leaders contented themselves with watching the
proceedings, and ordering the whole force to be awakened
to prepare a meal, by cooking the meat of two cows which
had been slaughtered the night before.

They were much interested in watching the women's
proceedings: first, they all assembled inside the elephants'
tusk fence in two companies, facing the double-fronted idol,
before which they performed a sort of slow-paced dance,
not altogether modest. They then trooped down to the
stream on the east side of the idol and washed their bodies
carefully, which finished, they all returned to their huts,
fetched each of them a large empty calabash, and going
amongst the goats and cows, quickly milked them, and
brought their calabashes back on their heads, each company
to the front of either the war chief's or the wizard's hut
respectively. They there arranged the vessels of milk in a
semi-circle on the ground, facing the hut to which each
company belonged, and standing behind their calabashes,
they attentively watched for the rising of the sun, which,
after about a quarter of an hour, commenced to show his
disc over the horizon. At this signal the women began to
chant what seemed to be a morning hymn, and continued
the singing, which was quite melodious, until the sun was
well above the horizon. The women then turned their faces
to the doors of the huts and uttered a shrill shout, undoubtedly
with the intention of awakening the two great chiefs.

Having thus finished their morning salutation, each woman
'sat down on the ground behind her calabash, apparently
awaiting the appearance of the chiefs. But no chiefs came

no

forth, for they had already received and answered a sterner
summons, and gone down the stream towards the west and
the setting sun, to add their measure to the grist for the
ever-creating powers of Nature. Of this fact the women
were only to surely aware, as they were also of the duty
which devolved on them in such an emergency; for with
one accord, as if by pre-conceived arrangement, they came
in two bodies round to the east side of the elephants' tusk
enclosure, where, as it chanced, John Smith and Lewes
were standing to watch their proceedings, on either side
of the stream, and by unmistakable gestures invited the
white chiefs to pass on with them and enter the chiefs' houses.
„To the victors the spoils." Thus were John Smith, the
trader, and Lewes de Havre, the captain of the ordnance,
proclaimed Priest, or Wizard, and Warchief respectively of
this war-like tribe; albeit it was now depleted of its army
and consisted mainly of women, and what they facetiously
named the ^husbands" of the tribe. There was no doubt of
the intention, nor did the white men for a moment think
that the remnant of the tribe would fail to acknowledge
their new chiefs; for even the dwarf slave girl acknowled-
ged the fact in her own way, by grovelling at her masters
feet and licking his boots, and then, as if recollecting that
her own people had an interest in the instalment of the
new chiefs, she ran to the gate of the citadel, and veheme-
nently harangued her tribesmen, until they ceased from
their occupation of devouring half-raw bullock meat, and at
her invitation, crowded into the citadel, which before they
had been afraid to enter. They arrived in front of the image
just in time to see the last act of the installation and ele-
vation of the two white captains to supreme power. Two
thrones were brought out of the kings' houses by the
women, these thrones were beautifully constructed of ivory

Ill

cunningly carved and joined together. They were set in
front of the two chiefs' huts, and the two white chiefs
were induced to sit in them; the goldbladed spear was
placed in John Smith's hands, and a staff with a knob of
soHd gold, as big as a man's two fists, which was brought
out of the warchief's hut by the women, in the hands of
Lewes de Havre.

Behold, now, the two kings seated on their thrones be-
fore the doors of their palaces and receiving the too affec-
tionate homage of the ladies of their court! The sight
raised the mirth of the stalwart matchlockmen, who could
only see the amusing side of the matter; so they fell
to congratulating their captains on their wholesale marriage.
But John Smith excuses himself and his friend from the
slur of being parties to such frivolity: albeit he admits that
the ladies, except for their faces, which did not fulfil his
ideal of beauty, were perfect as to form, with skins of satin,
and limbs only comparable to those of the fabled Venus.
He argues that by allowing themselves to be made chiefs
of the tribe, they not only became heirs to the wealth of
the former chiefs in ivory and cattle, to say nothing of the
valuable insignia of royalty, represented by the ivory thrones
and gold-headed spear and club, besides many other articles
of value which they found in the huts; but they also
inherited supreme power in the tribe, and it no longer
mattered about making slaves of a few of them by force,
because the whole tribe was at their mercy, absolutely, for

^^fe or death, to do with as they pleased.

^V The installation had taken but a very short time, and it
only now remained for the new kings to be introduced to
the tribe. This was soon done. Four stalwart girls lifted
each throne shoulder high, and bore their masters to the
»€astern gate of the citadel. Here all that were left of the

112

tribe were called together by a peculiar shout from the
women of the citadel; and when they were assembled, the
two new kings were anointed with milk from the breasts
of two of the ladies; the lady who anointed John Smith
being chosen from the ranks of Lewes' entourage, and
Lewes being in like manner anointed by a lady from the
other side.

This interesting ceremony being finished, all the people
of the tribe of big savages, and also the dwarfs, did homage
by throwing themselves flat on the ground and grovelling
with their faces in the dust, at the same time raising a
chorus of salutation.

Now they were indeed kings, duly nominated by the
ladies who were the custodians of the royal insignia and
crown property, enthroned, presented to the people, anoin-
ted and accepted by popular acclamation, not only by the
tribe of their former enemies, but also by the dwarfs, who
it appeared, acknowledged to some extent the sovereignty
of their bigger neighbours, and whose late acts of hostility
were therefore more in the nature of a rebellion, th^n a
war between independent tribes.

The two white chiefs were conducted back to their respec-
tive huts, and it was apparently expected that they would
pass the rest of the day in some orthodox way proper to
the occasion, perhaps by the sacrifice of victims, or by a
feast, which would certainly be on the usual lines of all
feasts of the anthropophagi.

But this was not their intention ; they had done all they
wished to do in conquering the tribe ; the rest was quite
outside the programme of their wishes. Even the honour of
kingship which had been thrust upon them was irksome,
and was considered by them a waste of time. They were
only anxious to. get back to the ships as soon as possible

I

I

113

and with as large a quantity of booty as they could manage
to take; so their first act had the significance of clemency
properly observable on such an occasion. They ordered the
hundred or more „ husbands" of the tribe to be released
from their bonds.

They then prepared for departure. First they loaded the
^husbands" each with a selected elephant's tusk or a bag
of corn, and marched them out of the citadel, leaving them
outside under charge of ten matchlockmen; then, collecting
about another hundred men and half grown lads, they
loaded them also, but with lighter tusks. They then called
in the dwarfs and commenced to collect the cows and
goats with the intention of driving them out of the citadel,
but they found great trouble in accomplishing this, as neither
the dwarfs nor the white men could manage them at all;
but on a hint from the dwarf girl they at last got out of
the difficulty by ordering the women of the citadel to move
them. They found that each woman had a certain number
under her charge, and that these followed her without any
hesitation.

They had now a very considerable and valuable booty.
The thrones, gold-headed spear and club and the other
royal appurtenances were not, of course, left behind, but
were given in charge of the proper custodians, and the
march was then commenced.

First, half the matchlockmen went on under Lewes as an
advance guard; then the ^husbands" and other carriers
with the ivory and grain, followed by the women with the
cattle and goats; and then a rear-guard of matchlockmen
under John Smith. The dwarfs were divided into two bodies
and marched on either side. It was quite nine o'clock in
the morning before the start was made, and they did not
arrive at their destination before nightfall, although the

8

114

distance was certainly not over fifteen miles; but a great
deal of delay was caused in getting the cattle and goats
over the swamp.

The two gallant Captains were very much joked about
their new dignity and their many wives, but the Admiral
was very well pleased with the ivory, and immediately
decided that he would keep about thirty of the "husbands"
and train them to work the oars of the PETER ASMODEUS,
as well as to do the dirty work of the two galleons. The
cattle, goats, and corn were especially welcome, and it
was immediately resolved to replenish all the salt meat
casks so far as the stock of salt would allow, and also to
dry a lot of the meat in the sun and over fires.

At a general conference held during the evening, they
decided to make another excursion up to the town and
bring down more cattle and ivory, but that the next day
should be given up to rejoicing, feasting, and making much
of their allies, the dwarfs, without whose assistance they
(vould certainly not have succeded so well in the fight with
the big savages.

CHAPTER XI.

The tribes made no difficulty at all in 'arranging their
camps for the night. The women, as soon as they arrived
in the open ground around the fort, immediatly started to
milk the cows and goats, filling the calabashes they had
brought with them, and in proper order advancing in two
groups to present the milk to their newly-appointed chiefs,
and then, when it had been divided amongst the seamen,
to whom, as may be imagined it was a great treat, herding
their cows and goats in a great circle around them, with
a broad lane through the centre leading east and west.
When this was finished they commenced to build two huts
for their chiefs in the midst, with material which their
tribesmen — except the ^husbands" — brought from the forest ;
the „husbands" in the meantime, after having been made
to deposit their loads in the fort, arranging themselves in
a ring on the outside of the cattle, to guard the herd and
keep them from straying.

The dwarfs, true to their instincts, after getting their share
of cow and goat meat took to the forest, all except the
slave girl, who would not leave her master.

Soon the camp and fort were quiet, and except for the
sentries, all were asleep. The two new kings of the savage
tribes were constrained by the women to spend the night
in the huts prepared for them. It seemed better for them
to exhibit perfect trust in the honesty of their people, but
they took the precaution to both occupy the same hut and

ii6

the dwarf girl, who was at first very jealously regarded by
the other ladies, insisted on sharing the hut with them. She
seemed to have no fear of treachery on the part of the
remnant of the tribe of big savages, for, as she very expli-
citly explained, the ^husbands" were only like women and
could not fight, and the women, who were now the most
important members of the tribe remaining, had of their own
free will accepted the white men as chiefs, and would cer-
tainly protect them. Moreover, she proudly pointed to the
forest, where her own people — who now held the mastership
of the country — had retired to guard the whole community.

John Smith wrote a long and very interesting disquisition
on the manners and customs of these two peculiar tribes;
he observed their habits very carefully, and after the fleet
left the coast, carrying with it some of them as slaves,
together with the dwarf girl, he diligently learned both
languages, which were used interchangeably by the tribes,
and got to understand very well their system of gover-
ment and ethics.

Both tribes were cannibals, eating their slain enemies, as
well as those of their own tribes who were convicted of any
crime. The dwarfs were of a much lower type of humanity
than the others, having no fixed towns or villages, but cam-
ping in the forest, some times for a few weeks together in
the same place, in groups of a few families; but generally
they moved about from place to place every day. They
appeared to have no religious belief at all, but they acknow-
ledged the bigger race of men as their masters, not willing-
ly, but because they could not help it, and they took
every opportunity to injure them when they could do so
with impunity, slyly killing and eating them whenever they
could in the depths of the forest, but making no attempt
to keep them as slaves.

117

They had no laws of marriage or divorce, merely mating
and separating like animals, nor did they seem to have any
kings or chiefs. The mothers of children were the only
members of the community who exercised any sway or
governance, and that sway was exercised only over their
own children until they were old enough to fend for them-
selves. True, there were far in the depths of the forest old
men and women, of whom the slave girl spoke with great
reverence, who prepared the poison for their arrows and
also the antidote; but these wise men and women held no
real power over the tribe; they merely worked for pay,
and sometimes gave advice on matters relating to the wel-
fare of the tribe.

Not so the other race, a much higher grade of thought
was theirs. John Smith records it as his conviction that
their system of ethics, simple and plainly discernible as it
was in the life of the people, was a good system, and one
well adapted to the requirements of such a people in such
a country, and even perhaps worthy of imitation by more
civilised races. It was, as he understood it, the practical
worship of the race, for the good of the race, by the race
itself. The sun as the origin of light and heat was honoured
as the first principle of fertilization; and sex, not only in
the abstract, was worshipped as the regenerator and power-
ful friend of the tribe, to forward its power and greatness
by increase, and in the right direction of strong and heal-
thy progeny, not only of its men and women, but of its
flocks and herds also. In furtherance of this object, the
selection of the fittst subjects for the continuance of the
tribe was entrusted to two chiefs; one, a strong man in the
fight, because such strength was necessary to enforce their
mandates; and the other a cunning man of parts, skilled in
physiology.

ii8

A reasonable, and, says the observer in his record of it,
not an unworthy cult, even though he ascertained that such
drastic measures as the slaying of mal-formed children and
sickly persons and animals, and the mating of men and
women with or without their consent, as well as the seve-
rance of already mated couples, were within the arbitrary
powers of the chiefs. He does not even condemn the savage
execution of the poor woman found impaled on the idol,
but finds a fair and good reason for it; nor can he cease
to admire a system, which, as he says, was the cause of
the laying out of a town on such good principles, for the
maintainence of health and cleanliness, that it would put
to the blush many towns known to him in Europe; nor
yet did he for a moment regret that he had restrained the
religious fervour of some of his men, which would have
led them to demolish the hideous double-fronted idol. He
was glad to leave it as a monument of a savage cult, which
was, even if savage, perhaps able to teach a lesson to
civilization; and it would also serve as a rallying point
about which the tribe might re-assemble and continue its
life after they themselves had left the country.

The day after they returned from the expedition was
given up to rest and feasting, as well as to a great distri-
bution of presents to the dwarfs, who were each given either
a strip of coloured cloth, or some beads or other finery, and
with these gifts they were much delighted. The heroic little
slave girl was dressed up in resplendent colours, and proudly
marched about behind her master, carrying his gold-bladed
spear. The "husbands" and the other men of the big race
of savages were constrained to build rough shelters for the
cattle women, and to make a yard for the cattle. The herd
was tended by the women and allowed to graze the herbage
in the clearing.

119

A small quantity of the spirit which had been distilled
from manioc was also given to the people of both tribes,
but was not much appreciated by the dwarfs, who were
during the afternoon joined by many of their women; and
very fascinating Httle ladies some of them were, with bright
intelligent eyes, sharp as needles, light tan-coloured skins,
and well-proportioned limbs and bodies. Lewes de Havre
was quite pleased when John Smith's slave led up to him
a pretty little girl, and giving into her charge his knobbed
stick of office, installed her as his mace-bearer.

The big savages had had their day, they were no longer
masters of the district, but would now have to submit to
the over-lordship of the dwarfs, and John Smith trembled
for the future of their comparativly advanced state of civili-
zation. Many of the sailors looked upon the cattle women
and saw that they were fine healthy creatures, but James
Neccy promptly suppressed any improper interference with
them as likely to cause trouble, and he decided that both
the women and their flocks and herds had better go back
to their own place, and that cattle other than this herd
of mothers should be brought down for the requirements of
his ships.

The next day, therefore, a hundred men escorted the
ladies and their charges back to the town, leaving fifty of
the "husbands" only at the fort as hostages, and to finish
the yard and camp for a supply of cattle, of a different
and less particular description.

James Neccy himself went up with this second expedition,
Wving Lewes de Havre behind in charge of the fort. All
the remainder of the savages were taken back to bring
down the cattle and goats in exchange for the cows, and
also more ivory. The dwarf army without being ordered,
fell into their usual position on either side of the cavalcade.

l_

I20

John Smith and his faithful slave went up with them, as he
was the only person in the company who had learned enough
of the language to make himself understood. It was their
intention to spend two or three nights at the town, in order
to thoroughly search it and bring away anything of value
that might have been overlooked on the first visit.

They had a very successful journey, and having replaced
the ladies, and their cows ajid goats, in their proper habita-
tions, they proceeded to collect a large herd of cattle and
goats from the outer town, and to ransack the place for
other treasures; but except ivory, of which they procured
a goodly store, nothing of importance was found ; so after
two nights rest in the town they returned to the river with
their booty.

It was now the middle of September, and the Admiral
was anxious to get away and continue his journey eastwards.
His shipwrights had finished patching up the JoiIANIS and
she was ready for re-launching. It only remained now to
re-victual the ships, by drying and salting a lot of the beef
and goat mutton, and getting on board the grain and the
ivory. They reckoned that another week would suffice for
this, so that they would be able to leave before the rainy
season started in October.

They had up to this time lost altogether eleven men;
four were killed or died of their wounds during the fight
with the carrack; two were killed in the battle with the big
savages, and five others had died of disease during their
stay on the river. They proposed to take away with them
twenty-five of the "husbands", fifteen for the Peter Asmodeus
as galley slaves, to work the oars and lodge in the oar-deck,
and five e^ich on the other ships. To wait on these men
and prepare their food they also shipped five women on
tbe crompster, and two each on the galleons, so that their

121

ships' companies were more than made up; and to the
great contentment of the sailors, there would no longer be
any necessity for them to work the oars, a job which was
particularly distasteful to them, associated as it was with
the degradation which no free man would willingly accept.

Galleys and the use of oars in the propulsion of ships
were fast going out of fashion. The Italian Spinola had
tried to revive it, and did in fact man a fleet of six galleys
to assist the Spaniards; but when they were cut to pieces
a few years after by the English and Dutch, as they attemp-
ted to enter the mouth of the Thames, they disappeared for
ever from naval warfare, and oars on other ships soon
followed suit. James Neccy, however, found the Peter
ASMODEUS very useful in this expedition when in shallow
waters, and also in the open sea, by reason of her ability
to stop an enemy from getting the weather gauge, and by
keeping herself out of the range of guns which could not
respond effectively to the fire of her long swivel gun, which
was the forerunner of the famous long guns of the buccaneers
and the latter pirates.

For the next week the river bank was a scene of great
activity. The JoHANIS, having been warped out into deep
water, was reloaded with the material which had been taken
out to lighten her; her guns were reshipped, the ivory
stowed away in the holds of all three vessels, and the grain
and meat disposed of while accommodation was also found
for ten live cows and as many goats. Quarters were also
prepared for the slaves. These latter seemed to accept their
fate quite cheerfully; and when the preparations going
forward made it obvious to the dwarfs that the white men
intended leaving, many of them came forward, and through
the medium of the slave girl, offered to go too, but John
Smith took great pains to point out to them the dangers

I

122

of the voyage and the great uncertainty of their ever seeing
their native land again, if they did go; so they reluctantly
agreed to stay behind. But by no means could he persuade
his own dwarf girl, or the girl who had attached herself to
Lewes to follow their example: they both insisted strenu-
ously on accompanying their masters; and when it was
evident that, if if they were not allowed to do so, they
would certainly kill themselves, it was proposed that they
should, each of them, choose a husband to go with them
from the men who had wished to embark ; but this idea
they laughed to scorn, intimating very plainly that they
would have no other husbands than their own masters; and
truly, so good and faithful had one of them proved herself
to be, that her master could not find it in his heart to
deny her. The girls were therefore, to their great delight,
duly entered on the ship's books as „Meseh, slave of John
Smith" and ^Meleh, slave of Lewes de Havre", names which
were understood to apply to them and by which they were
always after known.

It was a sorrowful day for the dwarfs when the great
ships unmoored and began to drop down the river with the
tide. They had been told the day before that the white
men were going to leave them, and had been given a great
feast with some of the fire-water, as they had learned to
call it, and had also been given presents of bright-coloured
cloth and beads. In return they had brought in many
beautiful birds and some apes, besides a large supply of the
poison antidote, which John Smith had been very anxious
to procure, as he was sure that it would be a useful medi-
cine for snake bite, as well as a protection against poiso-
ned arrows. At his suggestion, also, four more of the
stones which he believed to be diamonds had been found
in the hands, or rather "breast pockets" of as many

123

old ladies, who apparently looked upon them as charms.

And so they drifted down the river, [the PETER AsMODEUS
leading the way, and for the first two days many of the
dwarfs followed down the river banks, for they were loath
to lose sight of their friends, who, they recognised, had
conferred on them a lasting obligation, by breaking the
power of their sometime masters and reversing the old
order of things. It was to be hoped that they would use
their newly-acquired preponderance of strength leniently,
and would not destroy the particularly well laid out town,
or ruthlessly stamp out the system whereby the finer race
had certainly raised the standard of the physique of their tribe.

James Neccy and his captains were well contented with
the results of the voyage so far. They had seriously dama-
ged, if not utterly destroyed, a carrack belonging to the
enemy, certainly it might have been better if they had
taken it and transferred the richest part of its cargo to their
own ships, they would not have troubled about the pepper.
They had established friendly relations with an important
tribe on a fine river, a fact which might be useful in the
future; and they had acquired over four hundred fine tusks
of ivory, besides a lot of slaves who would in time relieve
the crews of much arduous and disagreeable work. The
eight months which had elapsed since they had started
had not on the whole been ill spent, and if they could slip
away from this coast without encountering enemies' ships
with metal too heavy for them, they would be well content.

In four days they reached the mouth of the river, where
they had to wait over a week for a favourable tide to take
them over the bar and out to sea. It was their hope to
beat out to the island of Ascension, in order to catch the
prevailing wind from the north-west, and slant down with
it to round the dangerous Cabo Tormentoso, or as it had

124

been re-named, the Cape of Good Hopes. They were very
successful in this, and also in making a harbour on the
other side of the cape known to old Chiristian Lentholm,
where he had once before called for water and made friends
with the natives. Here they obtained some cattle and water
by barter, as well as some ostrich feathers and ivory; but
after a stay of two weeks for refreshment, they again got
their anchor up and shaped a course for Ceylon. But be-
fore they got near the island they had had a brush with
two Portuguese ships; one, the PETER ASMODEUS sank be-
fore she could get her guns into action, while the other
hauled down her flag and surrendered at discretion, being
quite unable to cope with such long odds. The Admiral, in
consideration of her having surrendered, merely relieved
her of all her powder, cannon balls and small arms, and
thus helpless allowed her to make the best of her way to
some friendly port. Being a ship of war — she was a small
galleon, which, together with her consort, had formed part
of a fleet destined for an expedition to the Red sea, but
which had been shattered and driven out of its course by
bad weather — she bad only a small amount of money on
board, or at any rate only a small sum was produced, even
in answer to pretty severe threats. This sum was of course
confiscated.

On the east coast of Ceylon they found all they required
for refreshment, and also secured some pearls from the
natives, who quickly understood that they did not belong
to the same nation as the hated Portuguese, who were at
this time making themselves very objectionable in the island;
for the zeal of the priests in proselytizing had reached the
limit of endurance, and more. Indeed, a year after, owing
to a letter sent home by James Neccy, Admiral Spilberg
sought an alliance with the King of Kandy, which did not.

125

however, bear fruit until the year 1638, when the Dutch
finally turned the Portuguese out of the island.

From Ceylon they shaped a course for the northern most
point of Sumatra, intending to call at Achi, where five
years before John Smith had landed with Christian Lent-
holm, and where they hoped, in spite of the intrigues and
hostility of the Arab merchants, to secure some pepper for
the Chinese traders, whom they expected to meet at Johor,
or on the east coast of the Peninsula. They hoped also to
get a good rest at Achi, and to be able to prepare them-
selves for the dangerous passage down the narrow sea be-
tween the Peninsula and Sumutra by overhauling their
armament and practising their men with their weapons.

Their slaves had by this time got used to the sea. The
^husbands" had been carefully trained to the oars on board
the Peter Asmodeus, and had developed into fine strong
men, very different from the soft, fat and indolent crea-
tures who were pampered and fed up in their native town,
and whose only use in the community was to assist in
increasing the numerical strength of the tribe. Two of the
men and one of the women had died on board, apparently
from sea-sickness, with which they were terribly afflicted; in
fact for the first month after leaving Dongo it was thought
that many of them would succumb, and the white sailors
got quite tired of attending to them and keeping them and
their quarters clean ; for if left to their own devices they
would have wallowed in filth, until probably they would
not only have died of disease themselves, but the Peter
Asmodeus would have become no better than a pig-stye.
Old Paul Keyut, her commander, however, very soon took
measures to obviate that. Twice a day he had the deck in
the waist — where they worked and slept and in fact
lived, except when they were allowed on the upper deck

I

126

for exercise — thoroughly washed out, by casting buckets
of water on to the savages as they sat or lay about the
floor. It was an heroic cure for sea-sickness, as well as for
uncleanliness, but it was effective; and after a time, when
they got used to it, the savages enjoyed going through
the performance themselves, half of them working the buckets,
whilst the other half scrubbed the deck, the women enjoying
the fun as well as the men. By the Admiral's orders the
marital arrangments of these people were to be left entirely
in their own hands. The women were given a galley and a
cabin adjoining the open space where the oar-benches were,
and here they prepared the food for themselves and the
men. The only thing that James Neccy insisted on was that
none of the white men were to interfere with them, but
events afterwards proved that this order was not very
ibiplicitly obeyed. The small parties of savages in the galleons
were treated in the same way.

Meseh^and Meleh, the dwarf girls, were rather better
treated, and after they got over their sea-sickness became
very happy indeed. They were given a small cabin which
had been used by two servants of the poop, and they soon
did the work of looking after their masters' rooms and
furniture, thus relieving a man, who was only too pleased
to exchange his work of a menial for that of a mariner.
They were affectionate little creatures, and soon became
great pets of the whole ship's company, so far as they were
allowed, for they were restricted to the after part of the
ship; and were not allowed to go amongst the men. They
were given proper women's clothes to wear, instead of the
short breeches and smocks in which the other savage women,
as well as the men, were dressed ; and it was most amusing
to see the airs and graces with which they also clothed
themselves. Their masters assiduously taught them each his

127

own language, which was also most amusing to everybody,
as after carefully learning a little lesson they would essay
to parade their knowledge, and thus fall into mistakes and
disputes which created much enjoyment, not only to them-
selves, but to the Admiral and his officers. The final triumph
was, however, attained when Lewes, who was an accom-
plished gallant, taught them to dance a saraband, which
they soon did very cleverly, Meseh being dressed up as a
gallant in a special suit made for her by the tailor, and
Meleh as his lady. It was very pretty to see them, after
they had finished their dance, run to their masters like two
children who had done a lesson well, to be petted and
fondled. They soon became, when the weather was fine,
the regular entertainers of the company in the Admiral's
saloon.

The adventurers were not very successful at Achi, for as
soon as they arrived they found that the country was hostile
to them, and a crowd of prahus came round the ships. The
Shah Bandar, or Captain of the port, a most dignified old
person, who was received on board with all the honours
due to him, and who was most polite when receiving the
present which was offered, at first held out hopes that they
would be allowed to land; but after keeping them waiting
for four days and letting it be seen that several of his
officers would like presents as well, at last tired their patience
out, and on being asked bluntly if the King would receive
a deputation and a rich present, intimated that the King
never left his palace, nor would he allow any men to enter
it: it was against the law for him to do so; but "at the
same time, if the white men wished to send him a present,
he, the Shah Bandar, would be pleased to take charge of it,
and perhaps the King might be so condescending as to
speak to them through the gate."

128

But James Neccy got impatient, and having secured some
fresh fish and vegetables from the numerous boats which
hung about, would not trouble to wait longer for the remote
chance of a few bags of pepper, although he saw the Arab
merchants loading their ships every day. He therefore weighed
anchor suddenly before dawn one morning, and had dis-
appeared before the Achinese were about.

But they were not to be left off so easily. The Achinese
were a strong, warlike people, and had imbided a very deep
and fanatical faith in the teaching of the Arab priests, who
came with the traders for pepper, and meant, if possible,
to keep the white men out of their country.

CHAPTER XII.

The two galleons and the crompster had got up their
anchors and taken advantage of a favourable breeze to stand
in for the Straits, intending to hug the coast of Sumatra in
preference to the other side, in order to avoid the many
Portuguese ships which were always to be met with, travelling
up or down the other coast from Pegu to Malacca, or from
Malacca across to Goa. James Neccy did not consider himself
strong enough to encounter the Portuguese power in the
narrow seas. He well knew that, if he did chance .to meet
a weaker squadron, the probability was that, before he had
captured or sunk it and got past Malacca to the friendly
port of Johor, he would have to pay dearly for his temerity;
because at Malacca there were always some Portuguese
great ships lying, besides several galleys, which would sally
out after him. He preferred to avoid an encounter rather
than to court it. But in endeavouring to avoid Scylla he
fell into Chary bdis. He had not long left his anchorage
and, following the Sumatran coast with light breezes, proceeded
on his voyage, before he noticed three large prahus working
out to windward of him. There was nothing extra-ordinary
about this, for Malay prahus, and even Chinese junks,
were fairly common in these seas, but they were not looked
upon as pleasant neighbours, for it was well known that,
if opportunity occurred, they were neither more nor less
than sea-robbers. But they were also timid, and would think

9

I30

twice before they attacked so strong a force as was repre-
sented by the two galleons and the crompster, so that the
Admiral did not feel any alarm, at least not until late in
the afternoon. Then he began to think that some agency
hostile to him was at work, for all through the day, at
intervals of an hour or so, he noticed these craft stealing
quietly away from the Sumatran coast in twos or threes,
from the mouths of streams, and from white stretches of
sand, sometimes seeming to simply detach themselves from
the apparently unbroken line of the mangrove swamp, but
always tacking across his course either before or behind
him, and when they had got to windward some little distance,
altering their course so as to keep parallel with the fleet.
By four o'clock in the afternoon there were over twenty
of these craft sailing along on the same course as the
Dutch ships, and only separated from them by about a mile
interval.

It had a very suspicious look, and certainly seemed as
if the Malays had, for purposes of their own, taken, and
meant to keep, the weather gage, a proceeding which was
almost equal to a challenge, in that it was a menace to the
fleet to the leeward; and only in this light could James
Neccy and his captains look upon it.

Of course there was the possibility that this fleet of prahus
had some other object in sailing down the narrow sea be-
tween Sumatra and Malacca and knowing — as all the Malay
kings did by this time know — that the Dutch were at enmity
with the Portugals, they perhaps wished to take advan-
tage of the convoy ofl*ered by three well-armed Dutch ships
to get past the Portuguese stronghold and fort at Malacca;
but to believe this it was also necessary to credit the
Malays with the excessive politeness of assuming the post
of danger between the Dutch ships and the course always

taken by those of the Portuguese, which was along the
eastern half of the Straits, as close as was safe to the coast
of the Peninsula. It was difficult to believe this, for it
meant a very considerable alteration in the known habits
of the astute sea-faring Malays, and neither old Christian
Lentholm nor John Smith would accept this theory. It only
remained then to look upon the Malay fleet as hostile; and
the three Dutch ships, which had drawn close together in
order to confer on the matter, were quickly prepared for
action, for it was decided that if a fight was to take place,
it would be better to start it at once, so as to get it over
if possible before dark, and also before more prahus came
out from the Sumatran coast to make the odds too heavy.
Already there were twenty prahus to windward, each pro-
bably holding twenty fighting Malays.

The Malay tactics of naval warfare were well known to
several members of the expedition who had travelled in
these seas before, especially the captain of the Admiral's
ship. They never attacked until they had an overwhelming
superiority in numbers, and then they bore down on their
prey — generally a single trading ship of small size — in the
night, and captured her by boarding, perhaps without even
firing a shot from their lelas, or little cannons, until they
were close aboard; for their biggest guns were very feeble,
none of them carrying a ball over a pound in weight; in-
deed, the clumsy brass blunderbusses, which they had fixed
to the sides of their prahus, were the more dangerous
weapons, as they were heavily charged with all sorts of
rough bits of iron, tin bullets, and even pebbles, which did
much damage at close quarters. Their habit was to get as
close to their prey as possible, and then, with much shou-
ting and a great display of fury, to fire one round from
all their fire-arms and climb on board, when their reckless

132

disregard of life and overwhelming numbers generally made
them irresistible.

■In onder to make certain of their intentions, the PETER
ASMODEUS got out her oars and beat up against the wind
towards the prahus, the galleons at the same time slanting
•but from, the Sumatran coast as much as they were able
without tacking. This proceeding evidently took the Achinese
by surprise, for they quickly clustered together, and as the
Peter Asmodeus got up to within half a mile of them, it
was plain also that they were prepared for action, for they
could be seen clustered round their lelas with lighted
linstocks.

Old Paul Keyut stole a little closer, and then steadying
his ship, enabled Rupert Saville, the master gunner in
charge of the long gun „Anna", to send a ball into the
midst of the clump of prahus — a proceeding which evidently
caused great consternation, for they had never before been
shot at with such heavy metal and at such long range. The
crompster was able to keep her position and get in another
shot before the Achinese recovered from their fright, but
then they came down on her, at least those which could
do so, for two large prahus were so disabled that they
could not join in the movement and seemed in danger of
sinking.

The two galleons had in the meantime forged ahead on
their slant out from the Sumatran coast, whence several
other craft could be seen straining out to join their friends;
and unless the PETER ASMODEUS could join her consorts
before the prahus reached her, her situation was certainly
grave. Old Paul Keyut would not, however, hurry himself,
trusting to his savage oarsmen to make as good, if not
better speed than the prahus, the savages were now so
well used to their work and were so well trusted, that they

133

were no longer chained to their benches, as was customary
with galley slaves. He quietly put his ship about, and the
great gun „Anna" was slued round on her pivot until she
pointed astern, in the hopes of getttng in another shot be-
fore the prahus got close enough for the culverins in the
stern castle to come into action; and thus, well maintaining
his distance, he steered a course to meet the galleons,
which were gradually forging out to sea and drawing after
them the prahus from the Sumatran coast; for they alsQ
saw that the fight had commenced, and tried all they
could to get out in time to join in.

Rupert Saville got in two more shots from the "Anna"
before the crompster joined company with the galleons, but
one, owing to the unsteady motion of the ship was a miss,
while the other stopped a prahu ; so that of the fleet from
the outside only seventeen were now coming up; but from
the coast three more would arrive at the same time, with six
more coming on at intervals afterwards — quite a formidable
enough company to deal with, especially as night was fast
approaching.

The most important thing was to stop the Malays from
-boarding if possible, as their superior numbers and reckless-
ness would certainly make them dangerous if once they
gained a footing on deck. The Admiral, therefore, ordered
the same course to be maintained, in order to draw the
prahus farther and farther ^away from the coast, and to
keep up a running fight with the culverins in the stern
castles of the ships as long as possible. In this way four
more prahus were sunk or disabled, but the rest kept gaining
ground. The crompster could have easily got away from
them, but it was inevitable that the galleons should be
ckught ; and it was now nearly dark. There seemed no chance
but that it would come to a hand-to-hand struggle on the

134

decks of the ships, and the prospect was not rehshed by
the Admiral, who, well as he could trust his men, knew
that they were at a great dis-advantage in numbers, and
also in fighting in the dark against such reckless and fanatical
foes as the men of Achi were. Besides their piratical love
of plunder, these Malays more than any others were very
much under the influence of their Arabian teachers, and
had imbibed to the full the belief that to die for the religion
of the Prophet Mohamad, was to there and then enter the
alluring Paradise of Islam.

The three ships were sailing down the wind £tbreast, with
the Peter Asmodeus on the outside, the JOHANIS in the
centre, and the Jacobus nearest the Sumatran coast. As a
last chance of stopping the prahus from boarding, the
Admiral ordered the helms of all three ships to be put
hard a-port, as if he meant to make for Sumatra, thus
bringing his ships broadside on to the advancing fleet; and
then, as the prahus came up, they were met first with a
salvo from every gun in the port batteries, and then, imme-
diately after, with a rain of bullets from the matchlocks.
But it only checked them for a few minutes, and decided
them to alter their advance. Instead of making for all three
ships, as they appeared to intend at first, all the prahus
bunched together and dashed for the Admiral's ship, which
was in the centre. When within fifty yards of the JOHANis,
the Malays commenced to fire their lelas and great blunder-
busses, and many shots were embedded in the galleon's
thick sides. Luckily she was staunchly built, and well coated
with good threeinch oak, on which the lela balls and not
very powerful powder made but very little impression; and
lucky also was it that the Admiral's great voice made itself
heard at the critical moment, when the miscellaneous contents
of the great swivel blunderbusses, aimed at the row of heads

135

appearing above the bulwarks of the JoiIANis, were poured
into his ship ; for if the heads and shoulders had not ducked
to the cover of the bulwarks, many of them would never
have ached again. Then, a very few minutes after this escape,
the prahus began to bump against her sides, and the cheerful
order to "repel boarders" brought everyone to his feet again,
and heads and hands and pistols were quickly over the side
for one more shot at the climbing Malays before they were
thrown on deck for the readier sword, pike and axe. Then
the grim hand-to-hand fight commenced in earnest. For
half an hour or more they struggled and strained and clam-
bered up the sides of the ship from every point and all
round ; sometimes half a dozen or more would gain a footing
on deck, only to be slaughtered there, and many a staunch
man fell on the side of the defenders also, pierced by the
longhandled "lembing", slashed with the keen "klawang",
or more often stabbed from behind with the wavy-bladcd
"kris", wielded by some cunning Malay who had not lost
his head in the ardour of attack, but had seduously watched
his opportunity, favoured by the increasing gloom of evening,
to slip through the ranks, by passing between two men as
they were busily engaged in defending themselves from an
attack in front. Fearful were the wounds made by the waved
blade and serrated edge of the kris when wielded by these
men, who knew how to use it, and who could deliberately
stab their victims from behind as they were engaged with
another enemy in front. With a sibilant "Bismillah" the
thrust was delivered, and the wound was enlarged and made
more deadly by a turn of the wrist and blade, accompanied
by the rest of the abjuration, "al-rahman-i-rahim" !

Too numerous were the enemy, and so utterly reckless
of life were they, that it is not surprising they should have
gained a footing at last, in spite of the strenuous valour

136

displayed by the white men. They won the forecastle, and
quickly more than a hundred of them filled the forepart
of the ship; then, sweeping before them the sailors, they
bade fair to soon overwhelm the whole ship.

With shrill cries of "Allah!" and "Amok!" they rushed
down the two ladders, and even dropped off the high edge
of the forecastle on to the main deck. But here they met
with a check, for John Smith and his ten rapier men, — who
had constituted themselves a body-guard for the Admiral,
on the poop — by his orders now rushed to the defence
of the waist, and quickly turned the tide of battle. Like
lightning the long, lithe blades played amongst the half-naked
bodies of the Malays, who could not by any means defend
themselves from the novel attack, any more than they could
harm the swordsmen, whose blades were a perfect defence,
and whose bodies seemed invulnerable. At last this idea
seemed to impress itself on the Malays, and seized with a
panic, they began to give way. This was the end of their
advantage, for soon they were in full retreat and scrambling
over the bulwarks, to drop, some into their boats, and some
into the sea.

CHAPTER XIII.

All this time the JACOBUS and the PETER ASMODEUS
were unable to do anything towards helping their consort.
It was dangerous work firing on the prahus clustered round
the JOHANIS in the uncertain light, while an attack with
the small boats would have been quickly overpowered; so the
only thing to do was to bring the PETER ASMODEUS, with
the assistance of her oars, close to the JOHANiS, and then
join in the hand-to-hand fight, but this wanted some very
careful manoeuvring, in order to avoid interlacing the yards
of the ships, and thus doing a lot of damage. By the ^time
the crompster was close enough to join in the fight by
fixing on to the side of the JOHANiS, the Malays had
already been repulsed and were dropping back into their
prahus, not cowed and beaten, but being literally shoved
overboard and fighting every inch of the way like wild cats.
The crompster therefore sheared off again to a safer distance.

It was now quite dark, and the Admiral would have been
well pleased if he could have put out all his lights, in
order to get away without the Malays knowing which way
he went; but this was out of the question, because there
was so much to do to clean up his ship and attend to his
wounded, work which could not be done without plenty of
light. He therefore ordered his two consorts to keep as
close to him as possible, and continued his course towards
the Straits, but keeping out as far from the coast as he
could. The fight had been a severe one, and had not been

138

productive of any compensating profit, like the struggle
with the African savages. Is was all very well to fight for
the sake of some tangible return in the way of valuable
merchandise; this appealed to the trader spirit of every
member of the expedition ; but to fight merely for the sake
of saving their own lives, was a thing to be avoided at any
risk of loss of dignity, if by any other means they could
accomplish that end.

In this fight they had lost nine valuable men killed
outright, besides many others wounded, some dangerously;
and the only result had been to prove that the people of
Achi were averse to any intercourse with the outside world,
at any rate insomuch as it was represented by the Dutch
flag. The fight was therefore to be regretted, and every
soul hoped that the Malays had had a sufficiently severe
lesson to make them avoid another encounter. But the next
morning, as soon as it was light enough to see, this did
not look as if it was going to be the case; for a very great
number of prahus were visible between the Sumatran coast
and the Dutch ships. Owing to the Admiral's care in drawing
away from the coast as much as possible, they had not
succeeded this time in getting the weather gauge of him;
but they evidently meant another attack if they could
manage it, and the only chance of avoiding this seemed to
lie in bearing out to the open sea, because the prahus would
be afraid to follow too far out.

But by evening the prospect of avoiding a fight looked
very poor. More than thirty prahus were in view just out
of range of the crompster's gun, and it could not be doub-
ted but that as soon as it was dark enough they would try
again, unless by some stratagem they could be avoided.
Luckily the nights were very dark, and by carefully cove-
ring up all his lights the Admiral hoped to be able to do

I

139

this, the only trouble being that the Malays might perhaps
attack before it got dark enough to carry out his design.

By seven o'clock it was dark, and no forward movement
of the prahus had been observed. They were spread out
within easy speaking distance of each other, about a mile
away from the ships, and perhaps five miles from the coast;
and as it got darker it could be seen that each of them
carried a small light, probably the fire of their cooking
places or the common smoky torches made of wood, oil
and resin which were used by the people of that region;
consequently their whereabouts was easily discerned.

By eight o'clock the Admiral's design to evade them was
ready for execution. Three long rafts had been prepared
on board the ships, all except fastening them together.
They consisted, each of them, of about a dozen empty
casks, which were to be joined together with a double row
of stout planks. Two small masts were ready for each raft,
carrying sails and also several posts to be fixed at inter-
vals to carry lanthorns and a rudder for each raft. All this
rqaterial having been lowered over the sides of the ships,
the rafts were quickly put together. All sail was then taken
in on board the ships, so that they rode under bare masts
and made no progress through the water. Then all the lant-
horns on board the rafts were lighted, and the rudders
being fastened hard a-starboard, they were pushed away
from the ships, and as each light on the rafts passed the
bows, corresponding lights on board the ships were ex-
tinguished : so the ships rode easily as if at anchor, and the
lighted rafts sailed on to take their place.

It was a simple trick, but it easily deceived the Malays,
as could be plainly discerned by the fact that the prahus
continued to keep pace with the lighted rafts, and soon
their lights all disappeared. It was, of course, impossible to

140

tell at what hour the Malays would decide to attack the
supposed ships and so discover the trick; but it would
probably not be for some time, as they would certainly
wait until more prahus joined them from the coast. Their
previous experience had taught them caution, so that it
was even within the bounds of possibility that they would
-not attack that night at all, but wait until the next night,
in which case, of course, as soon as day dawned, they
-would find nothing to attack but some useless tubs and
planks. After the lights had disappeared for about an hour
the Admiral's three ships got laboriously under weigh again
and by tacking in short stretches, succeeded before daylight
in getting about twelve miles away from the coast, before
.they again resumed their course towards the straits, which
they at last entered about midway between Sumatra and
Penang Island. They never saw any more of the Achinese
prahus, and easily imagined that there was a good deal of
cursing when the trick played by them on the Malays was
discovered.

They had now to travel over the most dangerous part
of their voyage. In the narrow seas between Sumatra and
-Malacca, there were generally to be found two or three
Portuguese ships of war, guarding the trading craft which
were continually going to Europe from the Spice Islands.
The great carracks did not come so far eastwards; they
were generally loaded at Goa; but ships of very consider-
able size, and with valuable cargoes of spices, came from
the Moluccas and called at Malacca, where they generally
picked up an escort to see them well out into the Indian Ocean.
James Neccy determined to make for the island of Pangkor,
and there lay up for a few days, in a good natural harbour
which Christian Lentholm knew of on the side next the
mainland. He could thus give his wounded men a better

I

141

chance of recovery, and also fill his water casks, as well as
take in a supply of coconuts and other fresh vegetables.
They got there safely without further adventure, spent ten
days at anchor under the island, and thoroughly explored
it. Christian Lentholm had visited it before, and thought
it might make a convenient stopping place for Dutch tra-
ders to the Far East. The Portugals had not as yet made
any attempt to use it; but there was a small colony of
Malays from the opposite coast living on the island, engaged
chiefly in fishing, and seemingly disposed to be friendly ; at
least they professed to detest the Portugals, whose methods
were too much those of a conquering race to suit the
proud Malays, these men for instance, agreed to do any-
thing to help the Dutch, if only they would fight the
^Saranies".

Christian Lentholm and John Smith discovered two or
three people who remembered their previous visit, and had
many interesting conversations with them about the politics
of that district. Finally this ended in the Admiral agreeing
to accept the pilotage of a prahu to take him into the
mouth of the Perak River, where he was assured he could
get some tin in exchange for his cloth, and certainly might
expect to meet friendly people, who would be quite prepared
to trade with him and also assist him in any attempt against
the Portugals.

Accordingly, on the tenth day after their arrival, they
got up anchor, and following the lead of the Malay prahu,
sailed down the coast until they found the mouth of a fine
broad river. Here the Malay pilot was persuaded to come
n board the Admiral's ship, which led the way up the
stream. It took them two tides to reach a place called Kota
Stia, where they found a considerable village, with coconut
.trees and many clumsy-looking domestic buffaloes. They

142

were detained here for three days, awaiting the arrival of a
chief called Dato' Bandar, without whom the people would
not commence to trade for anything except fish, coconuts
and fruit.

This chief was said to be up the river, but messengers
were immediately sent to fetch him ; and on the third day
he arrived, coming down with six very long canoes, each
having ten paddles a side, and being armed with small lelas
throwing balls of less than half a pound in weight : children's
cannon they seemed to be, but in reality very effective at
short range, owing to the ease with which they were turned
in any direction on their single pivots.

The Dato' Bandar proved to be a very affable old gentleman,
most polite and anxious to assist the white men. Except
that his mouth was large and somewhat misshapen by the
habit of chewing pepper leaves, which also stained his lips
and teeth a bright red, he was not at all bad looking, and
appeared very dignified and imposing in a suit of dull black
linen and a very extraordinary starched black turban, arranged
so as to exhibit points or corners sticking out in all directions.
In front of his own prahu, a man stood up holding a small
black flag, on which was emblazoned the double-bladed
sword of the Prophet of Islam.

By the intervention of the Dato' Bandar, the Admiral
was able to supply his ships with a goodly lot of buffalo
meat and some rice in mat bags, with which he hoped to
get his men familiar, as no wheat or other corn except a
little maize was obtainable in the country. The Dato' Bandar
had also about two hundred ingots of tin, which he was
anxious to sell; but he wanted, in exchange, either some
of the African slaves or some tusks of ivory, which were
much finer than those of the native elephants. However,
neither the Admiral nor his partners were anxious to get

H3

rid of either of these commodities at present; but when
the Malay chief, who was entertained in the Admiral's
cabin, saw the two dwarf girls and understood that they
were also slaves, he was struck with astonishment and delight,
and incontinently offered the whole two hundred ingots of
tin for them; but they also were not for sale. They spent
three whole days bargaining for this tin, and had at last
settled what was to be given for it, namely, one of the
slaves from the Peter Asmodeus and one large tusk,
besides a heterogeneous lot of other small articles in the
shape of beads and cloth, when it suddenly struck one of
the super-cargoes that some of the ingots were lighter than
others. This led them to weigh it, and it was found that,
although they were apparently all cast in moulds of the
same size, the weights were very diverse; and one of the
lightest, being chiselled in half, was found to contain a large
piece of iron embedded in the middle of it.

The Dato' Bandar, when his attention was called to it,
professed to be very astonished and grieved, protesting that
he had been cheated by his people who had sold the tin
to him, and offering to take back all the light ingots and
make a fresh bargain for the heavy ones. So another two
days were spent in bargaining, the Chief preserving his
politeness through it all, and leaving the Admiral and his
traders under the impression that they had done an excellent

I stroke of business; which undoubtedly they had, for tin was
at that time a very rare and valuable metal, although this
fWas not quite so valuable a lot as they expected it to be.
jOne lesson, however, they learnt, and a very useful one
too, was not to trust the Malays, in spite of their apparent
honesty. The Admiral summed up the character of the Dato'
Bandar very concisely, by saying that he was "a gentleman,
but a dishonest trader."

144

Nearly two weeks were spent very happily with these
people, who showed very evident regret when the time
came for the ships to heave anchor, so that the Admiral,
persuaded thereto by John Smith, offered to take two or
three of them on with him as far as Johor and bring them
back on his return journey, if the Dato' Bandar would
agree to get ready for him some more tin without adulterating
it with iron; and this being agreed to, they went down the
river, taking with them three young Malay men of good
birth, who professed to be willing to work as common
sailors during the voyage; and very handy and useful they
proved to be, whilst their knowledge of the coast, as far as
Malacca, assisted the sailing masters a good deal.

It was on account of what these men said about the
great number of turtles which frequented the islands, that
the Admiral was induced to touch at a small group of nine
little islands just off the mouth of the Perak River; and
through that, by one lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, he amply
repaid himself and his expedition for the losses and dangers
which they had already experienced.

CHAPTER XIV.

Very lovely indeed were these little islands ; resting places
fit for fairies, John Smith declares them to be. They were
uninhabited, and clothed up to the top of their precipitous
rocky sides with perennial green. Blue water ran right up
to the shores, and on one side of the largest island stretched
a beautiful sandy beach, divided by a tiny stream of fresh,
limpid water, rippling down a rocky gorge to join the blue
waters of the sea after attempting to lose itself by filtering
through the bright yellow sand. Here it was, the Malays
declared, that on moonlight nights, and during certain
seasons of the year, the great turtles crawled up on the
sands to lay their eggs. It was off these sands, and within
a hundred yards of the land, that the ships dropped their
anchors, which did not touch bottom until full thirty fathoms
of hempen cable had been paid out. And then, regardless
of sharks, scores of the sailors threw off their clothes and
dashed into the water, to swim to land and search for
turtles' eggs under the guidance of the Malays. But these
latter were very uncertain if any would be found, for they
said the "hantus" or spirits of the place should first have
been propitiated by incantations and a burning censor of
sweet-smelling woods and gums: at any rate, if they found
eggs already laid, certainly the turtles would not come up
that night, nor for many succeeding nights, to lay any more,
because of the omission. John Smith says he quite believed

I that, but thought that perhaps the noise and tumult made
i

I

146

by the sailors might have had quite as much to do with
keeping them away.

Very deHcious was the fresh, cool water of the little
stream, after the tainted liquid which was doled out to the
men on board, and on which the brackish water they had
obtained at Kota Stia was not much improvement. The
men amused themselves by hunting amongst the rocks and
diving for shells, of which many very beautiful ones were
found, having a fine pearly lustre inside. These were care-
fully cleaned and stored away in their boxes to delight
their children at home. They found also great oysters with
shells two feet across, which the Malays showed them how
to roast in the fire, until the shells opened and the deli-
cious flesh was disclosed ready cooked and fit to be eaten.

But the Malays themselves spent all their time collecting
hideous black crawling creatures, which looked like animated
cucumbers, and which, they said, the Chinese traders at
Johor would buy at a good price, as they considered them
a great delicacy.

The anchorage was too dangerous for a long stay at this
place, and the Admiral would certainly not have, waited
more than one night, even if he had not been interrupted,
as he was about an hour before dawn, by the sound [of
cannon firing out at sea on the other side of the islands.
James Neccy did not think of waiting to enquire what the
firing was about, nor whether it was friend or foe, but
immediately got up his anchors and sailed out to investi-
gate. As soon as he had got out beyond the islands, about
a mile distant, they saw in the quickly coming daylight a
great ship, which was recognised by many of the crew, as
well as by the officers, to be Portuguese by her rig, and
they soon saw that she was flying the Portuguese flag; so
there could be no doubt concerning her nationality. She

»47

was doing her best to keep off about twenty-five or thirty-
Malay prahus, which were clustered round her; and which,
even as the three Dutch ships came up, boarded the Portu-
gal and continued the fight on his decks.

Now here was a three-cornered quarrel which might require
delicate management, but which could not under any cir-
cumstances end otherwise than favourably for the Dutch,
as they had the great advantage of the weather gauge, and
were quite strong enough with that position to whip the
prahus and the Portuguese ship altogether. It was, however,
evidently the best policy not to be in a hurry, so that
both their enemies should have time to weaken themselves
before they joined in the fight. The prahus were undoub-
tedly the same which they had fought with before. They
had missed the Admiral's ships owing to the trick played
on them, and apparently had picked up the Portgal instead,
and deeming her an easy prize, had forthwith attacked her.

Deliberately the Admiral made his arrangments to move
down his galleons one on either side of the Portugal's great
ship, the crompster going on in advance with her oars all
in readiness to make a dash if required, and her long gun
loaded with several small balls to commence the game by
firing on the prahus. As soon as she was near enough, she
sent a dozen small cannon balls into the prahus lying the
farthest from the Portugal's ship on the port side, then
quickly reloading, and sluing her gun, she sent another
shower into those on the starboard side, and still steadily
advancing until she got within range for her bow culverins,
she fired them simultaneously into the prahus on either
side of the Portugal with deadly effect; for the Malays had
now taken fright, and were crowding into them from the
ship's deck. It was one thing to board a single white man's
ship, but quite another matter to be pounded from such a

148

distance as this tremendous gun carried, so the pirates
had no other option but to make off as fast as they could.
But old Paul Keyut was not disposed to let them off so
lightly. He had not had a chance at them when they attac-
ked the JOHANIS before, for fear of injuring his consort;
so he determined now to teach them a lesson. Steering a
wide course to avoid the Portugal's great ship, he chased
them for two or three miles down the wind, keeping well
within the range of his two bow culverins and continually
firing on them, until, for safety, they so scattered that he
could not do them much harm without greatly wasting his
time; so then he turned, and getting his oars to work, re-
joined his consorts.

James Neccy in the meantime, leaving old Paul Keyut
to deal with the Malay pirates, dropped down slowly and
with mathematical precision, one galleon on either side of
the Portuguese great ship, and when he had manoeuvred into
position within easy speaking distance, he backed his own
sails and ordered his Portuguese interpreter — John Smith's
assistant super-cargo on the JOHANIS — to hail her and
demand her instant surrender at discretion, or he would
sink her with a broadside from each of his galleons.

The poor Portugal had no choice but to obey, for he
was in too dangerous a plight to think of resisting; so very
soon the royal flag of Portugal fluttered down from the
masthead. James Neccy then ordered her Commander to
come on board his ship, bringing with him his commission
and all information about his ship. A boat was lowered and
two Fidalgoes in splendid armour and plumed helmets
stepped into her and were rowed to the Dutch galleon,
where, on the main deck, they proudly drew their swords
and offered them to the Admiral, declaring themselves
prisoners of war and at the mercy of their captors.

149

One of the officers represented himself to be the General
in command of the soldiers, of which there were originally
one hundred on board the great ship; while the other said
he was the second in command of the vessel. He explained
that their Commander had been killed in the fight with the
Achinese, and that in point of fact they had suffered very
severely, not less than one hundred soldiers and sailors
being either killed or badly wounded; otherwise, he obser-
ved with a sardonic smile, the renowned Admiral would not
have been able to make such an easy prize of His Portu-
guese Majesty's ship.

He was aware that the „great captain, James Neccy",
was before all things a trader, and pointing out that his
ship, being a man-of-war, had not of course any cargo that
would be useful to „so important and magnanimous a mer-
chant as their present captor", he expressed a hope that
he would be allowed to proceed on his way to Malacca, of
course after paying a fair and sufficient ransom for the
privilege of doing so.

He explained that, except for the General, whom he
introduced as Don Guzman da Silva-y-Ampulvida, there
was not another live man of Fidalgo rank on board, now
that the Commander was killed. He hoped, therefore, that
the „Magnanimous Admiral would condescend to fix their
ransom at so moderate a figure as to make it possible for
them to pay it at once, but at the same time he must not
be considered as infringing on the dignity of Don Guzman,
who being of Fidalgo rank must without doubt pay a com-
mensurate sum."

With this and many other compliments couched in most
florid language, on the splendid seamanship displayed by
his sailing masters, and on the extraordinary gun on the
crompster, while not forgetting the marksmanship also, he

ISO

proceeded to tender his own thanks, and those of the
General, for the timely aid vouchsafed to them in driving
off the Malay pirates, without which he could not say but
what they would have been compelled to blow up the ship;
for they could not have borne to surrender it; and he con-
cluded by offering ten thousand crowns as ransom, five
thousand on the part of the General, Don Guzman, — who
seemed to flinch at being valued so high, — and the other
five thousand to redeem the great ship, her crew and arma-
ment. It was, he averred, lucky that they had just about
so much money on board, which they were taking to Malacca
to pay the salaries and other charges of the garrison of
that port.

The Admiral at once made them understand that ten
thousand crowns could not be considered an adequate ran-
som ; and after much chaffering and a reluctant admission
that perhaps there might be found another five thousand
on board, the Lieutenant offered to go and fetch the money,
whilst the General stayed on board the Admiral's ship; but
this also was not accepted, and the Admiral, prompted by
his assistant super-cargo, who had detected something suspi-
cious in a half-heard whisper between the two Portugals,
declared his intention of going on board their ship with a
party, to judge for himself what would be a fair ransom to
exact, and to bring it back.

This determination seemed to stagger the two Portuguese
gentlemen, and they rapidly raised their offer to twenty
and, ultimately, twenty-five thousand crowns, urging that
they could not think of troubling their captors to fetch the
money, and pointing out the disorder of their ship; the
angry passions which their presence might engender amongst
their people, who might be prompted to discourtesy; the
impossibility of getting at the money unless the General or

I

151

his companion, the now virtual commander of the ship,
went to order its production and many other trivial ex-
cuses; but James Neccy only smiled and persisted in his
expressed intention, shewing them that it would be absurd
for him, as their successful opponent, to let their ship go
free until he had made quite sure of her value for ransom
and also the object of her present voyage. He further ex-
plained that he held a charter from the States General of
Holland, not only to trade, but to do damage to all State
enemies wherever found, which charter he would willingly
show to his prisoners, who had not fulfilled his demand by
bringing with them on board his ship, their own commis-
sion. Moreover, he informed them that what he had done
was merely retaliation and quite fair, as he had been attac-
ked on his way out and had suffered severely at the hands
of their countrymen. He therefore very politely requested
them to descend to his own state room, where they should
be properly entertained until he returned from his visit to
their ship.

At this the Portugals commenced to talk together, but
being excited they failed to lower their voices to a whis-
per, so that the assistant super-cargo heard what they were
saying, as he was standing near them by virtue of his
office of interpreter. Suddenly, to the astonishment of every-
body, he trew his arms round the man who professed to
be the Lieutenant of the Portuguese ship, and pressing one
hand over his mouth, shouted out.

^Treachery ! gag them, they are going to order their ship
to be blown up." Willing hands quickly secured both the
Portuguese gentlemen, and scarves were tied over their
mouths, before James Neccy could demand of his officious
officer what he meant by his action. The latter replied that
he had all the time had an opinion that the man who

152

represented himself to be the Lieutenant to the dead Com-
mander of the Portuguese ship was not what he pretended
to be, because his companion deferred to him in everything,
and in fact seemed to have no authority as to the diffe-
rent amounts of ransom to be offered, or on any other
point of the negociations, always also addressing him in
terms of respect, which certainly were not proper from a
Fidalgo to a man of an inferior class; and that on the
question of the Admiral's visit to their ship being pressed,
the pretended Lieutenant had declared that his papers and
property must not by any means fall into the hands of the
^heretics", but that the ship should first be blown up; and
they had arranged that he should go to the side, and whilst
pretending to give instructions as to the entertainment of
the Admiral on board, he would order the Captain — who by
this seemed after all to be alive — to lay a train to the
magazine with a slow match, and then as James Neccy and
his party stepped on board over one side of the ship, the
Captain and certain others were to get into a boat on the
other side, firing the slow match at the same time, and so
to send the ship, the Dutch Admiral and all the ship con-
tained to perdition. When the Admiral and his officers
heard this explanation, it was quite evident to them that
they had something more than a mere Lieutenant to the
Commander of a war-ship to deal with.

The two gentlemen were therefore assisted into the Ad-
miral's state room, and a careful watch was put on the
men in the boat which brought them on board. The Admi-
ral, in the meantime, ordered twenty-five men from each
of his ships to prepare to escort him on board the prize,
and he with his interpreter and his chief officers went into
his state-room to further question his prisoners.

CHAPTER XV.

On entering the state-room, the Admiral ordered the
Portuguese gentlemen to be unbound and the scarves to be
taken from their mouths, then courteously asking them to
be seated he apologised for their rough treatment, and
informing them that he now intended visiting their ship, he
asked them if they wished to say anything further to him
before he went. He further offered them wine and food and
assured them that, although he intended to detain them in
that room until he returned, it was his wish to treat them
with every consideration and respect, because he was convinced
that they held a higher position than they had acknowledged.

Don Guzman, in reply, merely said that they would probably
be convinced of the truth of their statment after they had
visited the ship; as for the rest, they were prisoners, and
of course at the mercy of their captors; but as it was not
usual for cavaliers to be treated in the way they had been,
he supposed it was owing to a different level of etiquette
in use amongst merchant traders. His companion did not
open his mouth, but preserving a sullen silence, satisfied
himself by glaring at the interpreter as if he wished to eat him.

James Neccy therefore, having collected his boats from
the other ships, and having seen that all his men were
properly armed and their matchlocks charged, rowed over
to the Portuguese great ship, and with fifty of his men
climbed on board, leaving the others to guard the boats.
Marching his men to the after part of the ship, he drew

154

them up on the upper deck of the poop, and then, with
his officers moving to the front, he first, through his inter-
preter, proclaimed the ship his lawful prize, and required
all her officers to come forward and surrender their swords.
When this was done, and the officers, fifteen men in all,
had been grouped on the upper deck, he asked them to
depute one of their number to go and bring the ship's
papers and commission to him; but this, they said, was
impossible, as their commander had taken with him the
key of the strong chest, in which all the documents were
kept. The Admiral therefore waived that point for the
present, and ordered the whole ship's company to be mustered
in the waist on the main deck, and all the hand guns,
pistols and other arms to be piled up in front of the muster,
at the same time bringing his own men forward to the
edge of the orlop and ordering them to blow up their
matches, so that they should overawe the Portuguese into
quick obedience.

But the crew, already cowed, hastened to the muster to
deliver up their arms. There appeared to be about one
hundred and twenty of them able to do duty, although
many of these were slightly wounded. On enquiry, James
Neccy ascertained that the original ship's company consisted
of two hundred and thirty all told, but of these at least
seventy had been killed in the fight with the Malays and
cast overboard ; while the remainder, ten of whom were
priests, and the rest seriously wounded men, were stil below,
unable to move.

The Admiral then, stepping to the front, called out in
the Dutch language, and enquired if there were any Hollanders
on board, as he was disposed to take into his own service,
any such as were inclined to accept his terms and promise
fidelity. In response two men stepped out from the group

155

and came forward, then John Smith and Lewes de Havre
repeated the question in English and French, and two of
the former and one of the latter nation stepped forward.

These men, on being questioned as to why they were on
board a man-of-war belonging to an enemy of their respective
countries, replied that they were prisoners taken from different
ships by the Portugals, and that they had been given the
choice, either to serve on board their captor's ship or to
be hanged. They had elected to save their lives, but they
begged now to be taken into the service of the Dutch
merchant, more especially as they were all Protestants and
had been for that reason very badly treated by their masters,
and especially by the priests, who had threatened them
with the Inquisition and its terrors if they did not recant
and be baptised as Romanists, which they protested they
would rather die than do.

They were forthwith ordered to pick out arms from the
heap on the deck, and range themselves in rank with their
new comrades; but first they were cross-examined as to the
Portuguese ship, what her mission was, where bound to and
whence last.

Their replies were very astonishing and also gratifying to
the Admiral and his men, for it appeared that the ship
they had taken was the great ship San Salvadore, and that
she was one of a fleet of five men-of-war, under Andre
Furtado de Mendoga, the Captain-General of Malacca, who
was returning from an expedition to Amboina and Sunda,
from which islands he had expelled some Dutch settlers
who were trading with the natives, and whose property
and valuables he had confiscated. His ship had got separated
from her companions, and was searching for them when the
Achinese attacked her. Moreover, the men said that Dom
Andre Furtado was actually at that present moment on

156

board the Dutch ship JOHANIS, whither he had gone in
masquerade as the Lieutenant to the Commander of the
San Salvador e, in order to judge for himself as to the best
chance of getting out of the difficulty in which he was
involved. The actual Commander of the San Salvadore was
alive and well amongst the group of officers who had
surrendered their swords, and he, when pointed out, acknow-
ledged the fact. James Neccy was further informed that he
had taken a very rich prize, for besides a large treasure in
coined money which she was taking to Malacca, she had
on board a splendid collection of jewels, gold and silver
plate, belonging to the Captain-General and the Romish
priests, as well as many other articles of great value which
Dom Andre Furtado intended to present to native princes
and others whom he might find it politic to conciliate in
the interests of the Government of his Province.

It appeared that the fleet had been dispersed by a terrific
gale, and the San Salvadore had not seen any of her consorts
since. She had, in fact, been very much damaged herself
by the wind, and this accounted in a great measure for the
poor resistance she had offered to the Achinese pirates,
many of her guns being unshipped and some gone overboard.
James Neccy decided, if possible, to keep the San Salvadore,
to divide the survivors of her crew amongst all the ships,
and by not allowing them to wear any arms, and keeping
them at work and well watched, to render them powerless
to do any harm, replacing the men he took from the San
Salvadore by a crew drafted from his own ships. The wounded
he proposed to leave on their own ship under charge of
the priests, who would thus, by having plenty of work to
do, be also kept out of mischief.

Then courteously approaching the Portuguese officers, he
asked the Captain to conduct him over the ship and especially

157

to point out to him the place where the treasure was kept.
The crestfallen Portugals had no other choice but to obey,
and contented themselves by begging that their wounded
comrades and the priests might be treated as kindly as
circumstances would permit: for their own part, they were
prisoners, and must submit to their illfortune as well as
they were able. It took some time to count all the money
in the chests, and to make an accurate list of the gold,
silver, plate and jewels; but when it was done, and all
tranferred to the Dutch ships, those of the crew who were
fit for work were exchanged for one hundred men from the
Dutch ships to take charge of the prize. The ship's papers
were then carefully read over, and were discovered to be
of such great political value that James Neccy decided to
send them back to Europe as soon as possible, if he could
find a Dutch trader homeward bound. Everything was found
to be as the new recruits stated, and the prize was really
a rich one.

It was evening before all the arrangments were made and
James Neccy returned to his own ship, where he delivered his
commission into Dom Andre Furtado's hands, thus informing
him that he was aware of his position. He also informed
him that it was his intention to at once proceed to Johor,
avoiding Malacca, and, if possible, any chance of falling
in with other Portuguese ships. From Johor he intended
sending back to Malacca the Captain-General and all his
prisoners, after having taken guarantees for a fair ransom,
but at their own charges.

Dom Andre Furtado professed himself satisfied with this
arrangment, and excused himself for having endeavoured to
deceive the Admiral by calling his action merely a ruse of
war, which was quite justifiable under the circumstances;
it had not succeeded, and there was an end of it. He only

158

hoped that he might be able to persuade his captors to
send him straight to Malacca without taking him to Johor.
This James Neccy promised to do if he found it possible,
but he could not agree to go in very close to Malacca for
the purpose, because of the danger of meeting with an
overpowering Portuguese force. All these arrangements having
been made, the Dutch flag was hoisted on board the San
Salvador^, and the four ships proceeded down the Straits,
keeping well towards the Sumatran coast. For two days
they saw nothing, but on the third day, after they had
passed the latitude of Malacca, they sighted a ship, which
proved to be a Portuguese frigate of about seventy tons
burthen, which had been sent over to Sumatra, with a
present from the Government of Malacca to a Malay king,
who had promised to ally himself with the Portugals.

The frigate was returning to Malacca with a cargo of
pepper, and after an exciting chase by the PETER ASMODEUS,
was captured, and her cargo having been transferred to the
Dutch ships, the wounded men and priests were first moved
in, and then Dom Andre Furtado, his officers and some of
the other prisoners also embarked ; but eighty of the best
oi the men were detained by the Admiral to assist in
working his ships, and as a guarantee for the payment of the
ramson.

The unfortunate Portuguese Captain-General was presented
by James Neccy with his credentials and five thousand
crowns, besides some of his personal effects in the way of
jewellery and clothes; but the important political documents
which had been found were kept, and Dom Andre congra-
tulated himself that, considering all the circumstances of his
capture and helplessness, he had been very leniently treated,
perhaps much more easily than he would have served a
Dutch or English vessel captured in the same way.

159

The property which was restored to him, the value of
the great-ship and the frigate, and a fair ransom for his
officers and men were carefully appraised, the priests being
quaintly enough rated at five crowns for each man, the
same value for ransom as was placed on the wounded men
and sailors. To this was added ten thousand crowns, the
amount which Dom Andre himself fixed as the proper
amount to be paid for the enfranchisement of his own person ;
and a document of agreement, fairly inscribed in Dutch and
Portuguese, was drawn up, whereby Dom Adre Furtado de
Mendoga promised, "as soon after his arrival in Malacca as
possible, to send to Johor, sixty-five thousand five hundred
and ten crowns to The Most Excellent and Honourable
Merchant, James Neccy, or to any person having authority
from him to receive it, in compensation for help vouchsafed
by the said merchant to the Government of Malacca."
James Neccy on his part promised, on receipt of the
said monies, to release the eighty men he held as prisoners
without further ransom," or as many of them as should
then be alive."

This document was signed by James Neccy and his
Captains on the part of the Dutch, and by Dom Andre
Furtado, his Captain and the General of his soldiers, on the
part of the Portuguese, each party to the agreement keeping
a copy of it. To a suggestion made by Dom Andre that a
clause should be inserted prohibiting the Dutch merchants
of that expedition from attacking Portuguese ships, the Admiral
felt himself unable to agree ; and even when the Captain-
General promised to bind himself not to do anything to
hamper his movements east of Malacca, James Neccy sturdily
declared that the two countries were at war, and he could
not by any means agree to refrain from upholding the
dignity of his nation's flag. He must, he said, meet any

i6o

attempt to molest his ships or commerce in the best way
he could, but, in his own interests, he should try all he
could to avoid an encounter, naively adding, "especially if
he was met by a force equal or superior to his own". With
this equivocal answer to his pacific proposals Dom Andre
was constrained to be contented ; and then, with many
professions of mutual admiration, they parted company, the
crest-fallen Captain-General going on board the Portuguese
frigate with his officers, to make the best of their way to
Malacca, and there explain his disaster, and the soberly
triumphant Dutchmen filling their sails for the Farther East,
conscious of a most successful episode in their voyage of
adventurous commerce.

The Portuguese power in the East, which had for some
years now been showing signs of decadence, had been treated
to a severe lesson and punished by a reverse, which it
would feel more severely than any other, as it tended to
lower the inordinate pride and arrogance with which its
Eastern poHty was conducted; and not only that, but with
the advent of such a sturdy trading community as the Dutch
in the Far Eastern seas, the cherished monopoly in pepper,
which the King of Portugal had for so long enjoyed, bade
fair to receive its death-blow.

The old policy of Prince Henry the Navigator, who
encouraged his captains to bring home captives from the
countries they visited, and the encouragement of marriages
between Portuguese and these captives, had born its fruit in
a mixed race, the character of which did not tend towards
excellence. It has been written that "The Portuguese have
shown an alacrity not found in other European nations
to mix their race with others differing entirely in status
from themselves." This was a main factor in the decadence
of their power in the Orient, while the growing influence

i6i

of the Romish priests was another cause, and the edifice
of Albuquerque's "Empire of the East", like the Spanish'
''Empire of the West," tottered to its fall.

Not only did the events of the past month raise the
prestige of the Dutch a flag by this blow to the Portuguese
power, but the Malay pirates from Achi, fostered as they
were by rich Arab traders, and persuaded that the "Faith"
must triumph, had also learned a lesson, and were made to
confess that the new white men were powerful and not to
be attacked with impunity.

John Smith in recording the history of this part of the
voyage and the tale of the fighting in the narrow sea,
indulges in day dreams and prognostications of a bright
future for trade, in which the Portugals were to take a second
and very inferior place. If only there were a few more ships,
either Dutch or of his own nation, he would gladly join in
an attack on the Portugal's stronghold of Malacca, and he
had very little doubt but that it would be an easy conquest.
But it was not yet to be: the English Company had only
just started to get a foot-hold in India, and that was much
too large a matter to allow them for some time to go farther
eastwards. The Dutch were to be the pioneers in these
waters and James Neccy one of the first to make an impression
there, to cause his influence to be felt by native princes,
as well as by the Latin race which had op to that period
dominated the region.

Three more days found them in the narrow strait dividing
the island of Singhapura from the end of the Peninsula, and
at anchor in the mouth of the Johor River, where they were
after a very short time visited by the King of Johor in
person, and given a very cordial welcome; for this important
chief was personally acqainted with both John Smith and
Christian Lentholm, who five years before had spent three

l62

or four months trading in his river, and had then won his
confidence by their fair dealing.

The King invited James Neccy and his officers to go up
the river to his capital, called Batu Sabar, which was situated
about six leagues from the sea, and together with its suburb
of Kota Sabarang, on the opposite side of the river, was
quite an important town. It was found impossible to get
the galleons and the great ship so far up the river, but the
crompster was with little difficulty rowed up on one tide,
and the Admiral, taking with him John Smith and the three
Malays from Perak, whom he could trust to give a good
account of the fight with the Achinese pirates and the
capture of the Portuguese man-of-war, very gladly followed
the royal canoe until she stopped at the King's landing-place.

Here they spent some very enjoyable days, being most
honorably entertained by the King Regale, who was most
anxious to gain their friendship, and who had come to
understand that this particular sort of white man was not
connected in any way with those who held authority at
Malacca, but was, on the contrary, at enmity with them,
and quite willing to fight them on very slight provocation.

CHAPTER XVI.

About a month was spent in the Johor River, and some
profitable trading, was done with King Regale, who was
very anxious to obtain all the merchandise that he could,
as he was able to retail it by means of his large sailing
prahus to the islands within reach at a very large profit,
and also to the Chinese merchants who frequented his town.
The traders got in exchange for their merchandise a con-
siderable amount of gold dust and nuggets, which had been
collected for King Regale by some Malay settlers whom he
and his predecessors had introduced from Menangkabau in
Sumatra, and who had gradually spread all over the districts
called Gamencheh and Segamat, round the base of Gunong
Ladang, which the Portuguese called Mount Ophir, believing
that King Solomon got his gold to embellish the Temple
from this region.

These settlers from Sumatra had become a considerable
power in the interior. They had fraternised with the aboriginal
tribes, converting many of them to Islam, and had covered
much of the country which had formerly owned allegiance
to the Malay kings of Malacca. They had recognised that
they had no rights to the soil, and as they brought no
women with them from Sumatra, they took the native
women for wives, or slaves — the terms, in John Smith's
opinion, were synonymous all over the East — and flattered
the native men by pretending to accept chiefs of their

164

nomination. They called the women "owners of the soil",
in exchange for which flattering appellation they very willingly
did all the work of cultivating it for their husbands delectation,
and the latter thus had all their time at their own command,
to hunt and fish, and get rich by collecting the produce of
the forests and gold from the streams, which last, even if
they had to sell it to their King at Johor for a very small
price, meant profit to them, because their wives did all the
work required to find the family in food.

James Neccy also got from Johor a good deal of merchandise
in the way of sweet-smelling gums and resins, as well as
eagle wood, which, although a Protestant, he saw no sin in
selling to the Romanists for incense and at a very large
profit. He got no quantity of tin from Johor, as the country
did not produce it, and the King, who was also anxiously
looking for it for the Chinese merc"hants, had only what he
could get from some islands towards Java.

After the Dutch ships had been about three weeks in the
Johor River, the Captain-General of Malacca sent for his
men with the full ransom agreed upon. A large Chinese
junk had been chartered to bring them away, and had
brought two Portuguese officers with letters from Dom Andre
as well as the money. But when all had been settled, it
was found that of the eighty men who had been brought
to Johor, only sixty-two wished to go to Malacca, the other
eighteen protesting that they would no longer serve under
the Portuguese flag. They were not Portuguese, but natives
of other countries, Italians, Germans, Scandinavians and
others. Ater they had been carefully cross-examined, James
Neccy agreed to keep them in his own employ at a fair
wage, and the amount of their ransom was deducted from
the monies sent by Dom Andre Furtado and returned to him.

The King Regale, when he came to understand that these

i65

men were to be sent back to Malacca, was greatly troubled,
and proposed that they should there and then be all krissed,
for, as he said, it was only keeping alive more enemies.
He could not understand the Admiral's obligation to keep
to the terms of his agreement, and was greatly surprised
when he refused to sell them to him as slaves for twice or
even thrice the amount fixed for their ransom. But the
Admiral was firm, and for fear any accident should befall
the junk which was to take them to Malacca, he sent the
Peter Asmodeus to escort them well on their way. After
they had gone. King Regale disclosed to James Neccy that
one of the officers had been tempting him to attack the
Dutch ships, and had promised in the Captain-General's
name that, if he did so, the Captain-General would enter
into an alliance with him, and together they would wage
war against all Dutch ships that came into the narrow seas.

"But," said the King, "I told him that I was afraid, and
that I was not strong enough to take your ships; and
moreover, I think that the great Admiral would be a better
ally for me than the Saranies."

Furthermore he proposed to James Neccy that they should
join together and attack Malacca itself, assuring him that
all his Menangkabau people would assist from the land side,
and that the town and fort could be easily taken. But the
Admiral — incensed as he was by the attempt made by
the officer to excite the. King of Johor against him — proved
to King Regale that they could not get together a sufficient
force and artillery enough to do much damage to the strong
Portuguese walls, nor would his charter authorise him to
engage in such an act of warfare as bombarding an enemy's
town; he promised, however, that when he returned to
Europe he would endeavour to engage his Government in
the enterprise, because he felt certain that, if Portugal was

1 66

allowed to remain in possession of such a strong position,
Dutch trade could never prosper in the Far East.

And thus a month or more went by, some trading, some
politics, a very great deal of indulgence in eating the delicious
food prepared by the King's cook, and a lot of amusement
in the way of cock fighting, encounters between great water
buffaloes and indeed anything that would fight, for this sort
of sport was greatly enjoyed by the Malays, who trained
not only cocks and buffaloes, but doves and quails, little
fishes and even locusts, beetles and cockroaches to fight and
wagered heavy stakes on the issue.

All night long the town was alive with the music of drums
and gongs, screaming fifes and flageolets, so that sleep was
difficult to attain, and John Smith and the Admiral were
asked to first one chiefs house and then anothers, to eat
their evening meal and witness some performance of dancing
girls, conjuring or sword play, to hear a famous story-teller,
or a lot of reverend Hajis chant a long religious exercise,
which was not generally finished before dawn.

In return, the Admiral took the King and all his chiefs
over his ships, entertaining them as well as he was able.
On this occasion the little dwarf girls dressed up in their
finery and danced, while John Smith and his rapier men
showed how they cleared the decks of the Achinese pirates,
and the African savages, who were now a very stalwart
and contented lot of men, went thorough a war dance. But
that which interested the King most was the artillery, and
especially the long gun "Young Anna" on board the PETER
ASMODEUS; he was astonished at the distance she would
carry and at the accuracy of her shooting; and when he
hit a target himself after only three trials, he was delighted
beyond measure, and offered to buy her for anything the
Admiral demanded in exchange, but she was not for sale.

16/

And then one day the Peter Asmodeus slipped down
the river to join her consorts, and they all sailed out of
the eastern end of the Straits, followed by the good wishes
of King Regale and the Johor chiefs. The Admiral took
with him a letter to the King of Pahang, whom the King
of Johor claimed as a vassal. But it was not proposed to
stop at Pahang unless they were obliged to do so, as the
mouth of that river was known to be very dangerous, by
reason of the sand bar over which the breakers rolled with
tremendous force. The intention was to go on at once to
Patani and there leave John Smith according to agreement,
do some trading, and then return to Europe as soon as
possible, calling at the same places as on the outward journey,
and making up the cargoes with spices and pepper, if more
valuable merchandise was not obtainable.

The voyage up the east coast was a fairly prosperous
one, and no particular incident occurred. Some Chinese junks
were seen and passed without speaking; and except for
that, the fleet arrived off the mouth of the Patani River
without anything occurring to break the monotony of the
voyage.

A good deal of ceremony was displayed on their arrival,
many officers visiting them in highly-decorated barges deman-
ding presents, but offering nothing beyond empty compliments
in return, and holding out no hopes of their being able to
see the Ruler of the country, who was a widowed Queen,
who, according to the custom of the country, did not show
herself to the male sex. This was not quite what the Admiral
liked, as he felt that he would have a much better chance
to trade if he had an interview with the actual Head of
the State. He therefore refused to send her any considerable
present, as he was urged to do by her ministers, and contented
himself by sending messages of deep respect, intimating

i68

that he had a rich present to offer as soon as he was
received in audience. He adopted this course because he
was credibly informed that she had received rich Chinese
merchants on several occasions.

His obstin£icy had the desired effect, and one day a
message was brought to him that he would be received
that evening by the Great Queen. Preparations were therefore
immediately made for the visit. The present, consisting of
samples of all the merchandise which they had to dispose
of, two fine large elephant's tusks and several bags of spices
and pepper, was given in charge of ten African slaves, who
when they landed from the Queen's royal barges, which
were sent to fetch them, marched in procession guarded by
twice as many matchlockmen and headed by James Neccy
in a rich dress, with John Smith as his interpreter. Some
more of the officers also went with their Admiral to the
Queen's palace, where they were received first by her
Chamberlains, and hospitably regaled with a very elaborate
meal of rice and many tiny dishes of meat, fish and vegetables,
cooked with spices and pungent herbs. After this they were
served with a warm liquor in cups, which they were given
to understand was made by scalding some dried leaves in
water, the leaves being procured from the Chinese merchants,
who habitually drank it with their meals. When this was
finished, the materials for chewing pepper leaves smeared
with slaked lime, and taken together with a sort of astringent
nut, were passed round, and the business of the visit was
discussed whilst they masticated this useful digestive, which
the Admiral had learned to appreciate whilst staying with
the King of Johor.

Some considerable delay, and a great deal of talking as
to the proper etiquette to be observed, took place before
the Queen was prepared to receive. them. The Chamberlains

i69

were very anxious that the white men should do homage
in the same way as they made the Chinese, which was by
crawling into the presence and at intervals stopping and
lifting their hands in adoration; but James Neccy refused
to do this, and after much journeying to and fro between
the outer hall of the Palace, where they had been enter-
tained, and the inner chamber, where they were to be
received, this point was waived. Then came the question
of a salute by firing cannon. This the Admiral, sorry as he was
to waste his gunpowder, agreed to, chiefly because he thought
the noise of the guns would greatly enhance his own dignity
and also serve to awe the people; but when the Chamberlain
urged that he should fire fifty rounds, being one for each
year of the Queen's life, he demurred, and finally it was
settled that he was to fire fourteen rounds, being one for
each year of her reign, the first and last rounds to be fired
from the long gun on board the Peter Asmodeus, and
the others from the culverins. This knotty point having
been settled, a messenger had to be sent off to the ships,
to order the firing to start as soon as a shot was heard
from a matchlock in front of the Palace.

All these delays were rather trying to the patience; but
the Admiral, who anticipated great profits from his trading
in this new field of adventure, and who also was most
anxious to secure a favourable reception for his protege,
John Smith, willingly submitted to the inconvenience. They
laughed very heartily at the tawdry, not to say dirty,
appearance of the Palace, which was merely a series of large
palm-thatched houses, joined together by broad covered
ways, with wooden walls and floors composed of split palm
tree trunks, over which was a mat of split bamboo. This
floor was so slight and, apparently, insecure, that at the
outset the visitors made no trouble at all about taking off"

I/O

their heavy boots in accordance with the request of the
Palace officers, for they were actually afraid to wear them
for fear of breaking through the floor.

At last everything was arranged, and the procession started
from the receptionhall at the first roar of "Young Anna".
They slowly traversed three other halls and passage-ways
until they came to the audience chamber and into the
presence of this mighty Queen, who exacted twice as much
ceremonious attention as the King of Johor, who ruled a
much larger and more important country. They found the
august lady seated on a small square mattress, elevated only
a few inches off the floor; while grouped behind her were
several women and girls; and in two lines down either side
of the hall were seated her officers of state.

The dresses of the Queen and all her people were parti-
cularly handsome, being made of the brightest silks, and the
handles and sheathes of the men's weapons, krises and
daggers, were of gold. There were also many gold articles
in the way of drinking vessels, cuspidons and richly-ornamented
weapons reverently held by the officers near the Queen,
and boxes for the chewing materials, without which it was
impossible for a Malay to move a hundred yards, be he
prince or peasant ; and to crown all, over the Queen's head
was suspended a not very clean canopy. The lady herself
was middle-aged, rather fat, but fairly comely, having a
benevolent expression, which was not belied by her speech,
when she spoke, as she did so soon as her visitors were
seated on mats spread for them before her throne.

First the presents designed for her were displayed to
their best advantage, and she made a careful examination
of them, showing a very considerable knowledge of the
quality of the stuffs, and comparing them not very favourably
with the material supplied by her Chinese merchants. She

171

as, however, very pleased indeed with the glass beads,
buttons and other ornaments provided, declaring that they were
much superior to the jade ornaments which she had obtained
^^from China, or the precious stones from Siam and Burma,
^^^but what pleased her most of all was an elaborately-ornamented
^Bvheel-lock dag or pistol. This she immediately ordered to
be loaded and fired in her presence; and John Smith having
explained to her the action of it, she passed it over to her
chief executioner, remarking that it would serve to kill
malefactors with.
^H, After the presents had been sufficiently discussed, James
Neccy, through his interpreter, asked formal permission to
be allowed to trade in the Queen's dominions for a month ;
and if at the end of that time the Queen considered that
it was to her advantage and to the advantage of her people,
he proposed to leave his agent, John Smith, in Patani for
perhaps a year or two, in order to establish a regular tra-
ding station there, which he and other Dutch merchants
would keep supplied with articles useful to the people, to
be exchanged for the produce of the country.

The Queen was very pleased that this should be done,
declaring that she herself would become a partner in the
business, and that the agent should have a house built for
him at once, close to her Palace walls, so that his goods
should be safe. She also promised to provide him with
servants and watchmen as her share of the speculation ; and
s to a wife, if he was not able to choose one he liked
from the girls who would undoubtedly at once offer them-
^^^selves, she would find him one from her own family. This
l^^ast proposition, made by the Queen quite as if it was a
natural part of the business, was rather startling to John
Smith, who had with some difficulty arranged that the little
savage dwarf, Mesah, should return to her own country

I

1/2

when the ships went home, and who was not thinking of
linking himself in another alliance again so soon. With this the
audience ended, and after accepting from the Queen's hands
some "siri" for chewing, the Admiral and his party with-
drew, well contented with the result; except that in John
Smith's case the matter of the threatened wife was a little
embarrassing.

After about a month's stay at this place, the Admiral,
with all his ships, sailed for Siam, leaving his agent establis-
hed in a convenient house close to the Palace. The fleet
did not return again to Patani until two months had elapsed,
having had a most successfull time in Siam, where they
got rid of nearly all their merchandise in exchange for pep-
per and many precious stones. The Admiral was now ready
to return to Europe, and what little of the original mer-
chandise was left was entrusted to John Smith to dispose
of at the best advantage he could, and it was agreed that
he should stay at Patani, if possible, until James Neccy
should return to the East and bring him away, but if the
Admiral himself did not return, or if he found it difficult
to stay at Patani, he was to charter either a native ship or
a Chinese junk to take him to Johor, whence he would
without doubt soon get a passage home, Johor being some-
times visited by Dutch merchants.

He was to aim at reducing the merchandise in bulk as
much as possible, by judicious exchange, so that ultimately
his trading should all resolve itself into the acquirement of
gold, either coined or as gold dust, and thus he would be
in a position to move about without much inconvenience.

The expedition as a whole had so far been very success-
ful; a large amount of money and a fine ship had been
acquired by a lucky chance ; much very valuable cargo had
been obtained by legitimate trading and by the conquest

173

of an aggressive and savage enemy; the inevitable loss of
life by disease and in fighting had been replaced by valu-
able slaves, and by men who had elected to desert the
Portuguese flag in favour of the Dutch, and the extra cargo
space in the great ship captured from the Portugals had
been nearly filled with pepper and spices, in spite of the
monopoly in that commodity claimed by the King of Portugal.

The Admiral considered that he would be able to com-
plete his lading at Johor; but, if he failed to do so, he
would put into the Perak River and get some more tin.
He would also, if circumstances seemed to warrant it, put
in at Ceylon, Algoa and the Quanza River, at all of which
places he might hope to get cargo, at the same time that
he provisioned and watered his ships.

Not the least useful result of his voyage was the chain
of calling-places which he had established, and the friendly
relations which he had entered into with the natives; for
the good work done in this direction would give him a
very powerful voice on the board of the new company of
merchants, which, he expected, was by this time formed,
or at least only awaiting his return from the East to come
into existence.

And so commending John Smith to the kind keeping of
Providence, they sailed out of the mouth of the Patani
River, leaving him, a solitary white man, in a city the
population of which was half professedly friendly Malays,
and the other half Chinese, who, to say the least of it,
were rival traders and not too well disposed towards him.

CHAPTER XVII.

Sadly John Smith watched the ships out of sight. He
confesses in his journal that if it were not for very shame
he would have re-embarked his merchandise and gone with
them ; and a letter to his mother, sent home by the Admiral's
hand, shows that he was afraid he had done a foolish thing
in trusting himself to the unknown chances of an indefinite
sojourn alone with these people, who, friendly as they might
appear at first, and when he was under the protection of
the guns and power of the four great ships in the river,
would perhaps alter their minds now thas he was alone and
unprotected, and all his valuable property was to be had
for the taking.

Small wonder was it that, in spite of his endeavours to
distract his thoughts by arranging and making inventories
of his goods, deep depression gradually stole over him, and
before he had been alone a week he fell sick of a bad
attack of fever and ague. In vain did the Queen do her
best to awaken him from his state of lethargy, by urging him
to commence to trade. Every day she either went to his
house or had him conducted to her own presence, and took
the kindliest interest in his health, supplying him with
remedies of the most incongruous descriptions, all warranted
to be infallible by her medicine men, although she herself
insisted that the only true and certain remedy was for him
to take to wife one, or even two, of the many damsels who

I
I

175

offered themselves for his delectation. But he would have none
of them. He was too miserable and enervated in mind, as well
as body, to care for such things. It was in vain that the
Queen had the prettiest girls searched for, and persuaded, them
to offer themselves to him, for he would not even glance at
their bared charms, while their timidly amorous glances only
disgusted him, and the insiduous whisperings of the kind
old Queen, who urged him to take this or that beautifully-
formed and warm-tinted girl to his arms, for his comfort,
made his headache even worse than it did before.

He religiously doctored himself by chewing the bitter
Jesuit's bark, which he, like all travellers of those times,
was never without, for it was even then considered the most
efficacious remedy for fever ; and this perhaps saved his
life, or perhaps, after all, the kind nursing of the good old
Queen did it. At any rate John Smith himself gives quite
as much credit to one as the other, for he evidently was
in the greatest danger for some time.

There is an interval in his diary about this time of over
six weeks. For some days the entries are hardly intelligible
on account of their incoherency and the poorness of the
writing, until at last, on the fourth of March, 1603, the
climax is reached, and the astounding statement is found
that "two horrible black and ugly she-devils had commenced
to feed on him and had gnawed all the flesh off his face,
snorting and breathing fire from their nostrils as they buried
their teeth in his flesh"; at least this is so far as could be
understood from the blurred and uncertain writing.

The next entry is dated the 24th April. It is sufficiently
coherent, and perhaps explains the delusion under which
he was labouring when he last wrote in his diary. Pie says
that he awoke to consciousness two days before, and at
first imagined that he was in the Paradise of the Prophet

176

Mohamad, and that two houris were ministering to him;
but soon he realised that he was an inhabitant of this earth,
and that the feeling of etherial buoyancy which pervaded
him, resulted from 'the fact that he was free from the pain
of the dreadful headaches which had rendered him uncon-
scious and unable to define his surroundings, except through
the distorted focus of the most horrible nightmare. But he
was so thin and weak that he could not move his body,
owing to the pressure of many thicknesses of silk coverlets
under which he lay, and which, together with the warm
embracings of two beautiful damsels, had induced the flow
of sweat which was driving the fever out of his system.
Truly it was no wonder that he thought he had realised
"Shurga" at last, when he met the smiling faces which
welcomed him back to consciousness.

The wise old Queen perhaps heard from reverend Haji
how the physicians tried to restore vitality to the moribund
Nabi Daud, and had thought the prescription worth a trial.
At any rate her patient was inclined to attribute his cure
as much to the Queen's medicine as to his own ; and there
was no further difficulty in persuading him to take wives
of the people of the country, according to the Queen's wish.

But oh! the joy of convalescense ! many pages of his diary
does he devote to describing his feelings and experiences
during the month after he awoke again to a knowledge of
life. It is like the happy recital by a mother of her baby's
developing powers, and seems at first sight unworthy of a
grown man. One almost marvels that he left it in his diary
for other people to read, after he had fully regained his
strength and mental faculties.

He minutely describes the pleasure he felt when he first
realised that he could taste the flavour of fruits, and the
feeling of extraordinary strength which seemed to surge

m

through him after slowly swallowing a small cup of chicken
broth; while it only provokes in him an amused feeling and
no disappointment to find that, whereas he thought the
acquired strength would certainly carry him for a walk the
length of the house, it scarsely served to allow him to
stand upright.

Then the exquisite delight of repose which was induced
when his handmaidens sponged his body with warm water,
in which some fragrant herbs had been steeped, and gently
assisted him to a fresh couch, after he had laid languidly
perspiring away the remnants of the fever. i\nd when at
last he was able to be dressed in the easy garments of the
country, and walked with assistance down to the river,
where, lying on a brightly-decorated mat, supported by
luxurious cushions, he inhaled the fresh warm breezes from
the sea, he breaks out into a rhapsody of thankfulness to
beneficent Nature for the goodness of the world and the
sweet delight of living. Quickly, then, his strength returns
to him, every day his walks get longer and longer, and his
ambition urges him to test his strength by exercising his
body, — which has, to his mind, acquired a new youth-
fulness, — by rapier play, until at last he can lunge as
actively, and every time deliver his point at full stretch
within a circle of less than an inch in diameter, execute
his repostc and flaconade, and spring his demi-voltcs and
his voltes as alertly as he did when he was a recognised
master of fence in England and Holland.

Following the advice of his clever doctress, he made a
habit of going with the fishing fleet out to sea every third
day, and this also did much to invigorate him, not only
by inhaling the fresh salt air, but by providing his mind
with a healthy excitement. Much has he written of the
strange and beautiful fish which were caught, and very

178

learnedly does he discourse of the rival merits of the ekan
merah and the ekan lang, of the boniness of the ekan
parang and of the delicious roe of the ekan terbu. And
then the rush and scramble of rival boats to get in first
to the market, and the beauty of the scene as the crowd
of sails seem to fly up the river on the incoming tide, with
a fair wind from the sea.

All these things quickly restored him to his usual health,
and the gratitude which he felt in his heart towards the
good Queen, who not only nursed him back to life, but
also to an appreciation of the delight of living, easyly
reconciled him to the prospect of a long stay in the country.

The Queen's fondness for her guest also increased, as such
attachments always do when a motherly woman has success-
fully nursed a patient through a severe illness. She gave
him the title of "Dato' Dagang", or Minister of Immigrants,
thus making him the Aloran Sembah, or Presenter of Petitions,
through whom all strangers were authorised to lay their
business before the Throne.

This appointment caused no ill-feeling amongst her subjects,
as in a Malay state it is alvvays held by a prominent stranger,
who might be expected to encourage the immigration of his
own countrymen to the State. The office, though not entitling
the holder to a regular salary, is a very profitable one in
the hands of a shrewd Malay, who would know how to
exact payment in recompense for assistance given to strangers.
Needless to say that John Smith did not personally get any
direct benefit from it, although Chinese merchants and others
learned to look to him for assistance, and were not disappointed.

It was the durien season, and, in accordance with custom,
the Queen and all her household prepared to go up country
for two weeks holiday, to feast on the fruit. The royal
elephants were, after much difficulty and delay, brought in

179

from their feeding places, twenty-four great beasts of burthen,
some of them easy of temper and docile, but others with
every disposition to make matters uncomfortable, and even
dangerous, for their loads of pretty girls. It was the first
time that John Smith had ever ridden on an elephant, and
it took him a little while to get used to the hard seat on
the rough cane basket which served for a saddle. It could
not by any stretch of courtesy be called a howdah. He
had to sit perched in a corner of this uncomfortable affair
in as little space as possible, cross-legged and cramped,
fearing that at every lurch of his clumsy steed he would
be thrown to the ground. The Queen's beast was the only
one which carried a properly constructed and covered howdah,
in which she sat in solitary grandeur. The rest were supplied
with the rough, open, double baskets, which were used to
carry loads, and which made but indifferent seats.

John Smith had long since discarded his trunk hose and
tight doublet: they were impossible garments for such an
expedition and for the life he now led amongst the natives;
and except for the colour of his skin and his greater height,
he would have passed well for a native, as he not only
wore their dress, but, so far as he knew how, imitated their
habits and speech.

Each elephant was allotted to a member of the Queen's
household, or to some favoured guest, who was allowed to
bring not more than two of his wives and one unmarried
girl, a relation of his house, while the bachelors were made
to travel on foot. These expeditions were always looked
upon as especially good opportunities for match-making, and
one of the chief games indulged in was for the young men to
change places with the gambalas, or elephant drivers, in
order to carry on flirtations, not always, as John Smith soon
discovered, of the most innocent description, with the girls.

i8o

Indeed, he realised before he had been very long in the
country, that whereas the virtue of married women was
very strictly looked after, and any lapse therefrom punis-
hed with death, the sentence being carried into effect by
the fathers of the guilty man and woman, unmarried girls
were allowed the utmost degree of liberty as to their con-
duct, without any fear of punishment or of even shocking
the conventionaHties. Chastity with them would be consi-
dered absurd, for children of nature as they were, the idea
of refraining from the indulgence of their instinctive desires,
in order to meet the convention of a religious system, was
far beyond their capabilities. Good Mohamadans as they
professed to be, the Arabian teachers who tried to force
them to a stricter code of moral ethics were fain to accept
this, as well as many other customs of the country which
they could not alter in conformity with the Law of the
Prophet, with the best grace they could, and call it all
Jialal, or lawful.

It was like a party of youths and maidens going a-maying,
this expedition into the forest to eat duriens, and the
stranger, whose lot was cast with them, felt like a boy not
yet out of his teens in his enjoyment of the games indul-
ged in by the young men and damsels, to say nothing of
the more staid and responsible heads of families, and even
the great Queen herself, who laid aside her dignity for the
time, and played with her people.

She called up John Smith's elephant close to her own,
pretending that she wished to consult him about a cam-
ping place for the night; and then, as he approached, sud-
denly the sides of her howdah were thrown open, and it
was seen that she had taken up three young and beautiful
girls, who commenced to pelt his party with berries and
fruits of the forest which they had collected. So amidst

i8i

screams of laughter and delight at his endeavours to screen
himself from the shower of missiles, they so drubbed him
that he was forced to seek safety in flight.

This was the signal for a general engagement ; the elephants
were goaded to excitement, and dashes were made into the
forest to find suitable berries and fruit for ammunition.
Fierce old war captains and staid and reverend Hajis joined
in the game of war as joyously as the laughing girls and
young wives, and many a young man, following the elephants
on foot, earned the promise of a sweet recompense from
the girl of his desire, in exchange for a supply of ammu-
nition, adroitly thrown up to her, when she and her party
were hard pressed and in want of it.

And so they frolicked on through the gloomy and cool
forest and over open fields of coarse grass, the scene of the
spasmodic agriculture of the forest tribes, following some-
times the dry bed of a stream and at other regular elephant
tracks, connecting villages and orchards, or leading to some
famous pool in the river. Thus they travelled from early
morning to noon, when they prepared a camp, either be-
side a river, or on the edge of an orchard of durien trees.
If they camped by a stream, the young men would set to
work to bruise between stones a certain root, of which a
supply was carried. The juice of this root when thrown
into the water had the effect of stupifying the fish, and of
making them rise to the surface; and then, when it had
been immersed for a short time in the stream above a pool
known to be full of fish, and when they began to rise and
flounder about on the surface, with a shout men and women
would take to the water, swimming and diving after the
finny tribe, almost as if they also were denizens of the
rivers; and soon the banks of the river were dotted with
busy groups of women, cleaning and splitting the catch

l82

ready to broil over the hot cinders of their fires, whilst the
young men prepared sheds and arbours thatched with palm
leaves, for the night's accommodation.

The next night they would camp by an orchard where
the durien fruit was ripe and fast dropping with resounding
thuds to the ground. Woe to the unlucky youth who should
by chance be hit by a falling fruit, for if he escaped with
his life he might thank his stars. It was no joke to be
underneath and to have a heavy fruit as big as a man's
head, armed with hard points all over it, fall on one from
a branch fifty or sixty feet from the ground ; such accidents
did happen sometimes, and with fatal results.

And then, when a lot of duriens were collected, they sat
down to feast, until they were helpless with repletion. John
Smith soon got over the feeling of repulsion which the
first acquaintance with the fruit always fills newcomers to
the country; the especially foetid odour, and the spicy,
aromatic flavour of the creamy pulp, seemed a part of the
warm, sensuous life of the tropical forest, and completed
the charm of the lotus-eating and irresponsible evenings
which they spent in the gloomy shade, serving as a foil
and enjoyable contrast to the energetic and strenuous fun
of the camps on the river bank, when everybody was so
thoroughly tired out that they were asleep almost before
they had time to crawl into their leafy arbours.

For more than a fortnight they thus travelled about the
country, and then they returned to the town of Patani,
near the mouth of the river, to their usual avocations there.
The journey had been of the greatest value to our mer-
chant, not only in showing him how to travel and arrange
his affairs according to the habits of the people, but also by
introducing him to the chiefs as a favoured protege ofthe Queen,
who, he found, was very deeply reverenced by her people.

CHAPTER XVIII.

John Smith found on his return a letter from the Admi-
ral, who had sent it from Johor by one of the King's trading
prahus. It was written just before the fleet left Johor on
its homeward voyage, and he was thus unable to send a
reply to it. The Admiral wrote that, except for a severe
storm which had done some little damage to his ships, he
had had a fairly successful voyage so far, having succeeded
in getting some more valuable cargo, and finally agreeing
with King Regale of Johor to return in two years time
with a force strong enough to attack Malacca in conjunc-
tion with him, and with authority to conclude a formal
treaty with him.

The kindly old Admiral wrote much in the way of encou-
ragement to his young friend, and promised that, directly
he returned to Johor, he would send either one of his own
ships, or if that was impossible, a King's prahu to Patani
to fetch him and all his property to Johor, in time to join
the expedition to Malacca which, he felt sure, the Dutch
Government would authorise, in furtherance of the interests
of the Company which was being formed.

John Smith now spent some weeks in quiet trading and
in making friends with the merchants from Siam and China,
as well as in exercising his powers and fulfilling the duties
appertaining to his post of Dato' Dagang which he found,
if he was to act conscientiously, were by no jneans light

i84

and unimportant. All disputes between the foreigners who
frequented the port and the natives were referred to him.
It was his business also to see that the ships were allowed
proper moorings. There was no specified salary attached to
his appointment, but it was recognised that he might make
what he could out of it.

The Royal Treasurer first collected an export duty of
ten per cent and an import duty of equal value on all
goods, and not all of this went to the Queen's treasury, it
is to be feared. Sundry other officials also collected small
amounts for services, or at least what they said were
services, rendered, although in point of fact, it might
rather be said that they exacted payment by dint of threats
of violence and trade hinderance, if the payments were not
forthcoming.

John Smith was more honest than this, and scarcely
required to ask for payment for the substantial help which
he gave, and thus got to be very friendly with the foreign
merchants, albeit at the cost of a little animosity from the
native chiefs, whose system differed from his.

The Queen, who through her agents, the girls of her
household, easily learned all that was going on, at least in
her capital town, soon saw that she had a valuable officer
in the white man, and proposed to him to give him a more
important post; even going so far as to hint that, if he
would become a Mohamadan she would take him for her
husband, and as she was getting on in years, would show
no jealousy if he exercised the privilege of all good followers
of the Prophet, and had other younger wives besides, plainly
declaring that her idea was not so much a passionate longing
for him, as a wish to advance him and, at the same time,
the well-being of her kingdom. This proposed kindness
rather overpowered John Smith, and he has recorded his

'85

thoughts on the subject at some considerable length; carefully
weighing, first the material benefit of such an alliance, against
the possible dangers in which it might involve him, and
then the spiritual aspect of apostacy, balancing the merits
of the Cross against the Crescent.

It seemed very certain that, if he allied himself to the
Queen, he would incur the enmity of all the great chiefs
of the country, and it might almost be taken for granted
that they would intrigue for his downfall, even if they did
not make certain of getting rid of him altogether. Murder
was of almost daily occurrence in the city, and was so little
thought of, that even the spectacle of the dead body of a
white man in the street some morning would not shock
people to an enormous extent. It was the fashion to attribute
such mischances to fate, and the expression, "Hukum sudah
sampei", meaning that the unlucky man had met his ordained
fate, was considered quite sufficient reason for such a death,
unless some busy-body should think it «vorth while to make
enquiry, when perhaps the murderer, if caught, would be
fined a certain weight of smelted tin, and be ordered to
provide a buffalo and some rice for a reconciliation feast
between himself and the relatives of the murdered man ; or
it might be that he would be ordered to give a live slave
in exchange for the life he had taken. These Mohamadan
Malays, whilst they were sticklers for the old Mosaic law
of a life for a life, and the rest of it, were not so wasteful
as to kill a man because he had killed another, and thus
lose two subjects of the State at one coup: that was not
their reading of the Law. A man was part, first, of the
assets of the State, and secondly, an item of value to his
clan and family; and if the State was reimbursed by the
recovery of half the fine imposed, the State was satisfied.
The clan and family were, for the same reason, more contented

1 86

with the other half of the fine, or perhaps a Hve and able-
bodied slave, than they would have been with an equal
weight of carrion. That was the Law and the Prophets, and
was reasonable as well, in Malay estimation. True, sometimes
an irresistible and foolish desire for vengeance would stir
up an avenger of blood, and then one murder would lead
to many ; but this was not often the case, unless the aggrieved
clan was not strong enough to enforce the payment of the
fine ordered by the Judge. There was another phase of the
material side of the question which he gave his careful
consideration to; and that was his domestic artangments.
He was very well contented with his life as it was: his two
young wives were affectionate and attentive to him; they
were not jealous, the one of the other; nor was there any
cause for jealousy, for their husband — or as the fashion
of the time and place decreed it, their master, — was
equally fond of both of them. They were by no means
meek and gentle creatures, for they ruled the house with
much spirit and with a great deal of cleverness, nor did
they spare their master altogether, often forcing him to
obey their behests against his own judgement, but doing
it with so much playfulness and acumen that he seemed
to be following more his own inclination than their orders.
And then, when it is remembered that they were amongst
the most beautiful and highly-connected young ladies of the
country, it may be guessed that John Smith was not disposed
to take even the great Queen herself into his harem, full
of gratitude towards her though he felt, and fond of her as
he was, but with an affection more filial than lover-like.

The two young ladies who already shared his affections
so amiably, when they found out, as they very soon did,
what was taking place, also strongly advised him to refuse
the honour; and they did so quite disinterestedly, for they

'87

declared themselves to be quite willing that he should take
other and younger wives, but said they," If you marry the
Queen, every chief in the country will be envious, and envy
soon unsheathes the kris."

John Smith was not a bigoted Christian. He had care-
fully examined the articles of faith in Jesus of Nazareth as
the Christ, both from the point of view of Rome and also
as a Protestant, and he found in the broadest Christianity
something wanting, some more evidence necessary. Like
Thomas he almost thought that, before the dogmas enunciated
by the Teachers could be accepted, he must actually see
and feel the wounded side. He would not allow himself to
absolutely drift away from the religion of his race, but it
is plain from his writings that his faith was weak, and his
hope not altogether stedfast. Charity, on the other hand,
abounded in him to an overwhelming degree, for he loved
his neighbours, meaning not only all mankind, but also all
animated nature, with a comprehensive and absorbing passion
which often led him into eccentricities that surprised his
friends. He was a good fighter, and loved to fight in what
he considered a legitimate cause, but in the midst of the
hottest quarrel his impulse always led him rather to bind
up wounds than to inflict them ; and it grieved him less to
lose his substance than to forfeit the affection of his friends;
so perhaps his Christianity was saved by his charity after all.

He had carefully read and had expounded to him the
Koran of Mohamad, the Prophet of Islam, and in his heart
he approved of it, except its dogmas. He found its precepts
as worthy of acceptance as the lessons of the Christian
testaments, and certainly more adaptable to human life in
the tropics, where the people are more childlike and under
the sway of the emotions and natural cravings, than are the
inhabitants of colder climes. After careful study of the

i88

religions, and the methods of their exponents in all ages,
he could only determine to himself that Christianity and
Islam were each of them but paraphrases of the same great
code of law and morality, the first enunciation of which is
attributed to Moses, or Musa, one of the greatest leaders
of men the world has ever held.

Of what avail is it to argue as to the greater efficacy of
baptism by water or circumcision? Both rites are only
symbols of the entry of a child into religious life.

Why argue for polygamy or monogamy? The rich man
and the strong arm in every creed will always, if it pleases
him to do so, possess a larger harem than his poorer and
weaker brother, even although he may with his lips declare
that to do so is immoral; and even polyandry, either as an
institution or as a secret indulgence is not so very rare,
showing that, with both sexes, no tenets of religion, nor
any teaching of moral or legal codes, is of avail, as against
the promptings of the passions in the natural healthy body.
Who shall say that the religious sects of Christianity are
more blood-thirsty in the propagation of their diversified
creeds than the Mohamadans? Is there any difference between
a crusade and a Jehad ? Was the spread of Crescent in
India by the first Mughal emperors carried on with greater
cruelty than the Inquisition was using at the very time
John Smith was writing his diaries?

And as to the Sectarian differences in both great religions,
he could find nothing to discriminate between the quarrels
and sanguinary contests of Romanists against Protestants
and Sunis against Shiahs.

The world of men and women, given the leadership of
eloquent preachers to gather followers into antagonistic
camps, teaching FaitJi in an Abstraction as a matter of vital
importance to the human race, but teaching it from two

1 89

different lines of thought, is ever ready to shed blood and
sacrifice human life in the upholding of the efficacy of a
superstition to insure either happiness in the natural life,
or bliss in a super-natural life. And for such matters will
the peoples fight to the death, although the very tenets of
the religions for which they fight inculcate peace and charity
and love for one another as their leading principles.

John Smith doubted whether the simple religion of sani-
tary cleanliness and improvement of the breed of the tribe,
which he found on the Quanza River in Dongo land, was
not perhaps better, as being more in accord with Nature
and free from the element of dogma. One day, by chance,
when he was in Johor and wandering about King Regale's
city, he had come upon an ancient Haji, evidently an
Arabian, who professed to be teaching a few disciples the
real tenets of the Islamic faith. He listened to his preaching,
but at first was only disgusted by the coarse sensuality of
the symbols the old man used to explain the points and
doctrines which he wished to elucidate; but when he had
heard him through ; and had come to understand the creed
which he upheld, "La-Alla-ha-illa-lah, Aku Allah, ya Allah
Aku, Alla-Hu Aku," "God is one God, I am God, God is Me,
I am God the victorious", he pondered the matter greatly in
his mind, and comparing it with much that he remembered
of the writings of religious teachers of all ages, he almost
thought that here was a universal first principle, which
might reconcile all conflicting arguments into one Pantheon
acceptable to the whole world ; and thus would be elimi-
nated the greatest factor for discord which prevailed and
orn the human race in an endless embroglio of turbulent
strife and bloodshed in the name of peace, love and good-will.
^m With these thoughts in his mind, John Smith might reason-
^nbly be considered capable of changing his religion from

190

Christianity to Islamism without much straining of his con-
science; but he could not bring his mind to do it under
any circumstances. Illegitimate child of such an incongruous
attachment as he knew himself to be, the frivolous and gay
nature which he had inherited in a slight degree from his
actress mother was dominated in him by the earnest Chris-
tianity of love and charity — err though it did, and fail
him before the fascination and seduction of the actress, —
which his father, the priest, possessed and passed on to
him. This leaven of earnestness would not allow him lightly
to change in himself that which had become a habit of
life earlier than his mother's teaching. The preceptors to
whom she gave him in charge had moulded his mind to an
unconscious belief in a certain formula, and he felt that to
preserve that belief he would undoubtedly throw away his
own life, although he just as certainly would do nothing to
try and induce another human mind to accept the same
faith, even if it were the mind of his own child.

On the two counts of material benefit and spiritual change,
he decided that he could not become the good Queen's
consort, and as tenderly and affectionately as possible he
made her understand this, and also that he was not in any
way desirous of increasing the number of the inmates of
his harem. However, she was so little offended at his denial
of herself, that she offered to provide him with more young
ladies if he wished for them.

I

I

1

i

CHAPTER XIX.

For some months after this momentous matter was sett-
led, John Smith lived an interesting and successful life, atten-
ding to his official duties and, as opportunity offered, barter-
ing his inexpensive stuffs and cheap ornaments for produce
of the country, chiefty tin and gold. The gold he kept; it
was the ultimate aim and object of his trading; but the tin
he passed on again to the Chinese merchants, getting in
exchange rich silks and other miscellaneous articles with
which he traded again, turning over his stock many times;
and as he was never anxious to hurry business, he was able to
command profits, which merchants who came in ships and
only waited for a short time in the port, could not hope for.

The Queen, who had considerable interests in tin mining
in the interior, was most anxious that he should go up the
river and spend some time visiting her mines, so that he
could tell her whether she was being fairly treated by her
agents, and also to suggest any improvements in the system
of working which he considered advisable.

At this time there were several small states dependent
on Patani, and it was customary for the princes governing
them to come once in every three years to Patani to do
homage to the Queen as their overlord ; and when they
Jwere assembled, there was always one particular matter to
e discussed which caused some quarrelling; this was the
homage which the King of Siam exacted once every three
years from Patani.

192

Siam was a very powerful state, and laid claim to most
of the Peninsula. True, she did nothing to enforce her claim,
and except for sometimes taking sides in the wars which
were continually being waged between rival states in the
southern half of the Peninsula, she was hardly known there.
It was different, however, in the northern half, where she
insisted on a tribute being paid to her. This took the form
of an ornament made of gold and silver, which was forwar-
ded once every three years with much ceremony. A care-
fully selected envoy was always intrusted with the mission
from Patani, and most minute directions were given to him
as to his behaviour and policy when in Siam. The Queen
was for John Smith to undertake this mission, but she was
persuaded by her Counsellors that he was too young and
inexperienced in intrigue to be trusted with such a delicate
matter; and in fact he did not wish it himself, for he felt
sure that if by chance any mistake or contretemps occur-
red, he would be blamed, and his enemies would use it to
his disadvantage. He therefore contented himself with being
a looker-on only of the preparations for the dispatch of the
mission, which took place soon after the tributary princes
had done homage.

These princes, heads of the small states called Legeh,
Jering, Sai, Jalor and Telubin, as usual had much to say
about the form of message and the value of the gold and
silver flower of tribute to be sent. They did not see the
use of it, and urged that the Queen should boldly declare
herself independent of Siam ; threatening indeed, that if she
did not, they would follow the example of the Prince of
Raman, and enter into alliance with, or become vassals of,
the King of Perak, who had some time before refused to
send an embassy with tribute to the King of Siam.

Perak had vacillated a good deal in this matter, some-

I

»93

times acknowledging her vassalage and at others repudiat-
ing it; and the small inland state of Raman, having no
seaboard to tempt a Siamese naval commander to harry,
escaped altogether the obligation of contributing towards
an embassy, by transferring her allegiance from Patani to
Perak. But then, as John Smith found out, the people of
Raman had overstepped their boundaries, and taking advan-
tage of unoccupied territory, had migrated two or three
generations before into the Perak watershed, and had there
established themselves, in spite of efforts on the part of
Perak to dislodge them.

The particular reason why the King of Perak had on
this occasion refused to send an embassy to Siam, was a
demand made by the latter for the delivery of a white
elephant, which was said to be roaming the Perak forests.
Now white elephants had been from time immemorial espe-
cial adjuncts of the Royalty of Siam, for it had been a
tradition that, wherever discovered in the world, they were
the property of the King of Siam. This tradition, and the
endeavours of the Siamese to give it effect, by laying claim
to every specimen as it was discovered, had often led to
serious quarrels, and even war, with their neighbours of
Pegu, and the states of Burma and India beyond, who did
not quite see the force of thus acknowledging Siam's right
to claim an animal the denizen of forests which did not
appertain to Siam. There was another thing about this
white elephant which complicated matters a great deal. The
animal, according to tradition, need not necessarily be white,
but he must be a beast having certain points or characteristics
which marked him out from the rest of the herd as extra-
ordinary. Amongst these points one was that he should
have six toes on each foot, and another, that when standing
on level ground, the tip of his trunk and the tip of his tail

»3

194

should reach the ground. It may be imagined, therefore,
that a great deal of ambiguity arose as to the exactness of
the demands of Siam, namely, that a white elephant which
was running at large in the forests of Perak, should forthwith
be captured and delivered up.

The matter had been under discussion now for nearly
four years, and nothing had come of it, at least nothing
satisfactory to Siam. Perak had denied that there was such
an animal, or if there were, she required Siam to at least
point it out, if not catch it. Then Perak said that the
animal talked of was not a real white elephant. So its points
were combatted one by one, until it did not appear to have
a leg to stand on, a tail to swish, or a trunk worth con-
sidering: it was a myth, 2i ha?Uu, or ghost; and finally, if
there were such an elephant in the forest, the pawaugs, or
medicine men, all declared that it must be kramat (sacred),
and on no account to be interfered with, save at the risk
of awful calamities befalling the State.

The King of Perak and his chiefs thus evaded the question
for three or four years, until the failure of Siam to enforce
her demands by invading the country, or taking some other
strong measures to compel obedience, ultimately destroyed
her prestige, so that the Perak chiefs refused to do homage,
or pay the triennial tribute of an ornamental tree with silver
leaves and golden fruit; and Raman eagerly declared herself
vassal to Perak in preference to Patani.

This had made Patani's other vassals restive and inclined
to revolt, but the astute old Queen was too clever to let
them fall away. She declared that if other and more peaceable
means failed to bring back the Prince of Raman to his
allegiance, she would not hesitate to go to war with Perak
and at least reconquer Raman, with the territory which her
subjects had colonised, if she did not actually lower Perak's

195

pride by taking more territory from her. Then again, as
she pointed out to her vassals, she was much nearer to
Siam than Perak and more open to attack, so it behoved
her to be wary. Siam had for some time been in alliance
with Portugal, and had acquired many muskets and some
heavy artillery; whereas she and her people, up to now,
were chiefly armed with javelins and the bows of the wild
Semangs. She drew on her imagination a little and declared
that she was in treaty with the other sort of white men,
represented by John Smith, and that through them she
would shortly be supplied with as many matchlocks as she
wanted ; then, when her army was strong enough, she would
think about Siam's claim to be her overlord, as well as
some other matters which she and her faithful allies might
enquire into. There was the rich city of Sengora for instance,
which had lately dared to assert herself as a rival of Patani,
and might therefore merit some slight rebuff, to teach her
a lesson.

In the meantime her friend, the white man, had asked
to be allowed to present each of the princes with a matchlock,
in token of the friendship which his nation felt for hers;
and for her part, there were five young and beautiful ladies,
daughters of chiefs, who were dependent on her and lived
in her house: these young ladies had each of them fallen
desperately in love with one of her faithful allies, and
nothing would content them but speedy marriage to the
men of their choice. And thus, with many cajoleries and
much flattery, the good Queen brought her vassals to a
proper sense of their dependence on her, and withal saddled

Lthem each with a bride who had been trained under her own
eye as a perfect spy and a clever secret agent, and who would
keep her mistress well informed of every slight change in the
political atmosphere of the small court to which she was sent;

196

and moreover, she would, incidentally to her duties in that
direction, bring up children to be loyal vassals of Patani.

And so the vassal princes, provided with brand new
brides, soon became contented with their own importance,
and they admired the astuteness of their great Queen in
obtaining an alliance with this other sort of white men,
who were at enmity with the arrogant Feringhes of Malacca.
They soon felt inclined to pity the Prince of Raman for
his folly in throwing off his allegiance to such a beneficent
ruler; but then the glamour of their brides and the wonderful
new guns still held them enthralled, for they were very
children, and only just elevated to barbarism from the
savagery of their primitive forest clanship, and not the least
important lesson they would have to learn from their
complacent brides was how to behave when taking their
rice and the proper Court etiquette of passing the siri-stand
to a guest. As it was, the Abentaras kanan and kiri (Heralds
of the right and left hand) had spent some long and anxious
hours teaching them how to advance up the long verandah
of the Palace, when they were called up to do homage to
the great Queen.

It was a great and gorgeous function as described by
John Smith, this doing of homage. Preparations had been
made which covered over a month of the time before the
vassal princes arrived, and then, when every thing was
ready, the city gave itself up to another month's pleasure.
Buffaloes and goats without number were slaughtered; and
not only the Queen, but all her ministers and the rich
merchants of the city, vied with one another in giving great
feasts and entertainments; so that in many houses, as was
the custom to express it, "the noise of the drums and
cymbals, the flageolets and the string instruments, and the
chanting of the Koran did not cease day and night for the

197

space between two Fridays." There, a chiers greatness was
measured by the number of buffaloes he slaughtered, and
the cost of the entertainments he provided for his guests.

The rich Chinese merchants furnished splendidly-dressed
theatrical companies of their own people, and gave free
performances of ancient dramas, on platforms erected in the
open streets. These performances were characterised chiefly
by the gorgeous embroidery displayed in the dresses of the
actors, by their shrill voices, and most of all, by the incessant
clapping of huge brass cymbals with which the dialogue
was eked out. The Siamese merchants had presented the
Queen with a troupe of Siamese performers equally gorgeous
in dress; these played within the precincts of the Palace.

A troupe of acrobats and dancers was also provided by
the Queen for the amusement of her guests. They were
Peguans from the Mon States, at the mouth of the great
river which runs through the Burmese kingdoms into the
sea of Bengal. Clever and agile performers and dancers they
were, but the ladies of the troupe were regarded by the
Patani ladies with considerable disfavour, because their dress
was, in the opinion of the latter, far too scanty to be decent.
It consisted of a single piece of cloth, or perhaps silk, but
always of the most beautiful quality. It was wide enough
to reach from the ladies' waists to their knees; but then,
as it was only long enough to just go round their waists
without being sewn together, and as the largest muscles in
the human body, were, amongst the Peguan ladies, particularly
well developed, it may be imagined that the wearers, in a
high wind, did not appear to be extravagantly clothed, nor
were they in difficulties about arranging a train when they
sat on the floor; in fact, their appearence was, it seemed,
more designed to inflame the hearts of the youth of Patani,
than was quite agreeable to the young ladies of that place.

198 I

But then, as John Smith remarked, it was altogether a
question of the point of view from which modesty and
morals were regarded.

In Pegu, young ladies found their charms lightly considered
by the young men, and were therefore obliged to assert
themselves in the best way they could, or their sex would
have been neglected. In Patani, on the other hand, the
young ladies led lives which were comparable in their license
to the Roman Saturnalia ; and it was only after the experience
gained by a few years of indulgence, in what we may
politely describe as free love, that they settled down to
married life and the thoughts of a family. As John Smith
writes in his diary, it did seem a little unfair that they
should blame the Peguan ladies for immodesty under the
circumstances, when, although more carefully clothed, they
were themselves so excessively free in their intercourse with
the opposite sex, that not one of them was contented to
wait for marriage, but must needs reverse the generally
accepted order, by first indulging in a term of profligacy
and then taking a husband and settling down to the staid
cares of bringing up a family.

Verily it seemed even to the citizen of emancipated
Europe that these Eastern ladies were more advanced than
he hoped ever to see white women, but again he thought
that perhaps after all it was not so much a matter of im-
propriety in the East, as of a slavish adherence to conven-
tionality in the West. For there in Patani, as on the Quanza
River in Afrika, and in civilized Europe, Fashion, the all-
powerful, had decreed a certain code of morals to be obser-
ved in connection with the religion which the people pro-
fessed; and really, taking it altogether, he considered that
perhaps the African savage had adopted the best system
of them all, and the one most in accord with the well-being

199

of the human race. It was a great question, and one which
he thought about continually, and which made him fill his
journals with speculative theories and eloquent disquisitions.
Our friend was evidenly at this time going through a phase
of considerable religious uncertainty; the only point on which
he was quite decided being a profound disgust and contempt
for the Portuguese Romanists, whose religion, morals and
general treatment of their neighbours he found to be far
less satisfactory than even the peculiar ways of the African
savages.

After about two weeks of feasting and amusements, the
important day for the grand ceremony of doing homage
arrived, and the tributary princes, surrounded by groups of
their own officers of state, marched with great pomp to the
Palace where the ceremony was to take place.

Patani being at this time under the rule of a Queen, some
slight alteration in the customary observances of doing
homage had to be arranged. It was usual for the vassal to
approach the Presence by, as it were, a side entrance,
where they were first received by the Palace ladies and
some one or more of the chief wives of the King, and were
by them regaled with gossip and siri until the time came
for them to go into an anteroom and there await the offi-
cial summons to the Presence, which was given by one of
Lthe Heralds in a loud voice, in which he reiterated all the
titles and stiles of the vassal lord, and called him to do
homage. It was then the duty of the vassal to reply from
the anteroom, and commence his progress up the long
verandah to the Throne at the top end of it. It was this
progress which was the stumblingblock in the career of
many an aspirant to the honour of being considered an
adept in Court etiquette.
The new customs dependent on the sex of the Ruler of

200

the State did not tend to help the chiefs much. In the first
place, they did not much enjoy doing abject homage to a
woman. This difficulty, however, had to a certain extent
been overcome by the Queen's own thoughtfulness, for she
had elected not to sit on the throne herself, but on the
floor beside it, filling the seat with the insignia of royalty,
so that the pride of her chiefs should not be hurt; and
instead of making them kiss her hand, — for kiss, John
Smith says, we must understand smell — she prepared for
each lordly vassal a little packet of siri, ready for chewing.
This was very diplomatic of her indeed, for the giving of
a chew of siri to a man by a woman amongst the Malays,
meant, either that she was in love with him, or that she
claimed brotherhood with him; so, however the recipient
might choose to translate it to himself, he could not fail to
be greatly flattered. But the worst part of the whole cere-
mony, whether o man or a woman were the occupant of
the throne, was the progress up the long verandah; for
instead of a Royal lady to receive them and start them on
the voyage with a little encouragement, the chiefs found a
troupe of laughing girls, amongst them being their own
brides and, of course, John Smith's two wives. These young
ladies did all they could to upset the gravity of the procee-
dings and put the chiefs out of countenance, trying to per-
suade them to all sorts of queer antics, on the plea that
they were the newest fashion, arranging and re-arranging
their coats and headdresses for them, until the poor men
were beside themselves with nervousness.

The proper way to do homage was for the vassal, as
soon as he got out of the anteroom into the long verandah
facing the throne, to seat himself on the floor cross-legged,
and in that position shuflle up the whole length of the hall
to the throne, between a double row of Court officials and

201

guests of the Court. Three times during this progress he
had to stop; once at the far end of the hall, once in the
centre, and the third time at the foot of the throne; and
at each stoppage it was his duty to give the Royal salute
three times. Now this Royal salute, as given by a man,
consisted in first closing each hand in the lap, then raising
the two fists pressed together to the level of the breast,
there opening the hands and pressing the palms together
so that the fingers pointed outwards; then, from this posi-
tion, raising the joined hands to the face until the tips of
the thumbs rested on the bridge of the nose, and thence
the hands were dropped again to the lap. This manoeuvre
was repeated three times.

But the mischievous young ladies started one poor man
on his career with the irfipression that, as it was a Queen
and not a King, to whome he was going to do homage, it
was proper that he should adopt the deportment and salute
appertaining to women; the difference being that, instead
of sitting crosslegged, he should sit with his legs doubled
back under him ; and instead of raising his closed fists from
his lap to his breast, he should draw his open hands from
his knees right up the length of his thighs and body to
the position opposite his face for the salute. Luckily for
the perpretrators of this joke, the Chief was told of his
mistake at the far end of the hall, after he had done his
first salute, where he was hardly within sight of the Queen,
and he corrected himself by the time he got to the middle
salute, so that the Queen did not really know anything
about it at the time, or she would probably have visited
her anger pretty severely on somebody, for she was very
little disposed to allow such an important function as this
doing of homage to be made game of. She knew too well
how difficult it was to get her vassals to acknowledge her

202

overlordship, to run any risk of putting them off by ridicule.
After the vassal princes, the Queen's own ministers, amongst
them , John Smith, did homage in their turn ; after which
the day finished with a great feast in the Palace, the per-
formance of a comedy by the Queen's own native players,
and some dancing by the girls of the Palace.

CHAPTER XX.

It was not long after this that the vassal chiefs took
their departure for their own provinces, to the last urging
that there was no necessity to pay tribute to Siam, and
that they were quite willing to fight, if the great Queen
would make up her mind to refuse to continue the practice.
But the Queen knew better; she knew that she was not
strong enough to fight, and therefore hurried on her embassy
to Siam, with the tribute of a wonderful flower wrought in
gold and silver. Nearly all of her counsellors agreed that
it was not advisable to come to a disagreement with Siam,
and John Smith saw very plainly that, numerous as were
the subjects of his patroness, they were far from warlike,
preferring rather an easy life of sloth and leaving not only
the rice cultivation, but nearly all the trading with Chinese
and Siamese merchants to their wives, who were certainly
much more capable and enterprising than the men.

The Queen now decided that she wished John Smith to
go up river and inspect her tin mines; and also she thought
it would be well if he continued his journey right into the
State of Raman, and endeavoured by persuasion and some
judiciously-placed gifts to induce the Prince and people of
that State to return to their allegiance. She recognised that
the expedition was not entirely free from danger to her
favourite minister, and pointed this out to him, but he was
himself most eager to go; and so it was decided that, as
so soon as proper preparations could be made, he should start.

204

He would probably be away five or six months. His
young wives were anxious to accompany him, but the Queen
forbade it, as it was not an expedition suited for women
at all: and so they had to stay behind. The Queen also
took charge of all his property, and appointed an officer
to fulfil his post as Dato' Dagang.

The Queen also turned her attention to his equipment for

the journey, the whole expense of which she, of course,

sustained herself. In the first place, two large river prahus

were provided, with six men and a steerer for each as crew.

It was intended to pole up the river as far as possible, and

then to lay up the prahus and proceed overland on foot,

taking to the river and the prahus again on the return journey.

Four of the little savages called Semangs were sent as a

bodyguard for John Smith, and also to act as hunters and

guides for the expedition. These Semangs were looked up

to by the Patani people as the original owners of the land,

and were always consulted by the Queen in matters of state.

They were in reality mere savages, and could easily have

been exterminated by the Siamese and Malays, who between

them had created the kingdom of Patani, but such a policy

was not in accordance with the ways of the East; and long

years before, when Siamese and Malays had colonized the

rivers and spread, the first from the North and the others

from the South, all over the Peninsula, they had recognised

the rights of the savages whom they had found on the land,

and had conciliated instead of coercing them. They had

inter-married with them also, until the typical inhabitant of

Patani was one-third Malay, one-third Semang, and one-third

Siamese; and it was only by searching deep in the forest

that the pure Semang could now be found.

Such were the four men who promised the Queen to
guide her minister right through Patani and Raman into

205

the Perak watershed. They were men of importance amongst
their own people, expert woodmen and hunters, and very
clever with the bow, with which weapon they were armed.
These bows were very different from the little bows and
poisoned arrows of the African savages. They reminded
John Smith of the formidable bows which were only just going
out of fashion in Europe, especially in England. They were
nearly as tall as the men who wielded them, and the arrows
were very formidable, being over two feet long, and tipped
with keen, leaf-shaped iron heads and poisoned. These savages
were very simply clothed, as they only wore a strip of
cloth made from the bark of a tree, and this they passed
between their legs and fastened to a cord which they wore
round their waists.

Two Siamese and a Chinese merchant also went with the
expedition, intending to buy tin from the miners, if they
could get it carried down the river, and also canes and
other produce of the forests, for which Patani was a very
important mart. There were also four slaves whose duty it
was to help generally in the work of the prahus, and who
would assist to carry the rice and dried fish, which were
the main provisions for the journey.

John Smith, being in the position of a special agent of
the Queen, and being empowered to treat with the Prince
and people of Raman, was provided with a staff of office,
whereby he should be known and his authority recognised.
This mark of authority was a peculiar spear, like a trident
with one of the points missing. It was called changi puiri,
(Nails of the Princess) and was always sent by the Queen

hen she intended to bear the responsibility of her minister's
acts and promises.

For twenty days they made slow progress up stream,
monotonously poling all day against the strong current, and

206

generally finding a convenient bank on which to camp at
night. Sometimes, however, they were obliged to sleep in
the boats, and on a few occasions they were entertained
by people living on the river side.

John Smith and his mission were received everywhere
with the greatest respect, and the village chiefs, called
Penghulus, along the river side, did all they could to assist
him. It was after twelve days of this journey up river that
they arrived at the landing-place for the mines, which they
had been instructed to visit. They found a considerable
village on the river bank, with some Siamese shopkeepers
and many Malays from Sumatra. Much gambling and
quarreling were going on, for it seemed that people soon
got rich, and as quickly gambled away their gains.

They spent nearly a week here, and John Smith made a
very careful study of the customs of the miners, as well as
of the mining business from a commercial point of view . . .
He felt convinced that very handsome profits could be
made if the mining was properly managed ; but as he found
it, he was afraid that the Queen, who advanced all the
provisions for the miners, was not getting a fair return for
her participation in the business, any more than, as head
of the State, she was getting the royalty of ten per cent.,
which was the state share of the tin produced.

There were two classes of work going on. The Malays
were getting the tin sand out of the hill-side, by conducting
water from the streams in the hills to places which were
known to be rich in ore, and by washing down the sides
of the hills into a long water race, which carried away the
soil and left the heavier tin sand at the head of the race.
The Siamese, on the other hand, were digging deep wells
down to the stratum bearing tin ore, fifty to seventy feet
deep. These wells were gradually enlarged as they descended,

20/

until they became like huge inverted funnels in the earth,
very dangerous indeed to work in, and also liable to fall in
and leave deep, open pits. The whole business was, however,
as John Smith could very quickly perceive, so hedged round
by superstition and roguery, that instead of the profits being
divided between the Queen, as owner of the mine and
supplier of all necessaries to the miners, and the miners
themselves, they were all absorbed by a lot of unscrupulous
people, who neither worked nor assisted in the working by
supplying material or food to the miners. At the head of
these was a man who declared himself to be an agent of
the King of Siam. This individual required every miner to
give six days' service each year in what he called the King
of Siam's mine. But he would accept a certain quantity of
tin ore in lieu of the service, in fact rather prefered it, for
the King of Siam's mine was not a very profitable one : in
fact it was little more than a name used as a stalking-horse
by way of reason to make people pay instead of doing the
six days' work.

There was another man who said he was the Queen's
agent, who made a good living out of certain commissions
paid to him. by a company of Chinese who conducted the
public gaming tables; and it was very much to be doubted
if any of the commission found its way to the Royal trea-
sury. Many others practised equally ingenious ways of inter-
epting the legitimate profits of the miners. One man decla-
red that he was empowered to collect payment for the
right to burn charcoal for smelting the tin; and another
would not allow smelting furnaces to be built without his
authority, for which he demanded payment in the name of
l^kthe Queen.

John Smith took careful note of everything he saw, with
the intent to report it to his mistress, as he was sure that

208

all this squeezing was unauthorised, or if not, that at any
rate neither the Queen nor her State treasury were any the
richer for it. He would much have liked to suppress the
man who called himself the agent for the King of Siam, as
he was sure that he was a fraud, but he thought it better
not to attempt anything in the matter, as he had no force
to back up his orders; and after all, the most important
part of his work was his mission to Raman, which he did
not wish to jeopardise by any action that might damage
his prestige at the outset. So he contented himself with
merely taking notice of all that was going on.

A matter which greatly interested him was the extraor-
dinary and peculiar superstitions of the miners, a cult which
was assiduously fostered by the pawangs, or wise men.
These paivangs taught the people that the ore was alive
and grew, that it had power to move from place to place,
was sensitive to correct or incorrect treatment, and could
only be obtained, and when obtained, smelted into metalic
tin, if certain rites and observances were fulfilled. In furthe-
rance of this cult, the pawangs had invented a language to
be used on the mines in which the names of many things
were altered, in order that the spirit of the tin ore should
not be offended by undue familiarity. In the same way as
when talking with people of royal descent, a respectful and
uncommon form of address and different expressions ought
to be used.

Besides the language to be used, the pawangs had inven-
ted a code of regulations to be observed on the mines; and
any breach of these rules, or the omission to use the dialect
prescribed, was punished by a fine to be paid to the /^w^«^.
John Smith was not very much against the pawangs, for in
spite of the fact that the superstition which they upheld
and by which they got their living was more or less absurd,

I

209

they were evidently doing useful work in keeping some
sort of order amongst the miners; and moreover, the faith
of the people in their power had to be kept alive by some
means, and the most efficacious was showing them where
to find good deposits of ore; so that the Pawangs in their
own interests became the prospectors for the community,
and thus did good work for their share of the profits, even
if some of their teaching was rather silly.

There were no women in this village or on the mines,
for it was one of the rules made by the pawangs that
women should not be allowed there. It was, perhaps,
a salutary rule, for it was obvious that if a few women
were to take up their abode amongst such a mixed lot of
men, they would cause endless quarrelling. The community
did not consist of staid married men so much as of young
bachelors, who came up to the mines for a few months,
with the intention of earning some money, and of then
returning down river, perhaps to buy a bit of land or a
wife, or to embark in some other undertaking. Too often
it happened that when they had got a little tin sand and
had made a start for home, they lost it all at the gambling
tables, or at a cock-fight in the village on the river, and
had to go back to the mines again to earn some more.

John Smith first realised the use of opium during his stay
at . this mining place. He had on a few occasions smoked
the drug in the Queen's Palace and at her invitation, for
she was a profound believer in the good properties which
it possessed, and occasionally used it herself It was evident
that if in the Palace, where life was easy and comfortable,
opium was useful as a tranquilliser, here in the forest where
life was hard, between the rough work of mining by day
and gambling by night, without the comfort of woman's
presence, men became indifferent as to how they lived and

210

what they ate, until hard fare and squalid living would
have killed them with disease but for opium, which had
here a still greater use, for its soothing influence made the
rough and exciting life just bearable. It was truly a magic
drug, and John Smith seemed unable to write enough in
its praise whether it was taken as one lay on the beautiful
mats and supported by the elaborately-embroidered bolsters
in the Queen's Palace, surrounded by all the Eastern luxu-
riance of beautiful attendants and voluptuous accessories,
or whether it was rendered even more entrancing by the
presence of the witty and kindly Queen herself, who, in her
anxiety that her protege should appreciate to the full the
good qualities of the drug, often invited him to smoke
with her, when she prepared the pipe for him herself,
arranging his cushions at just the right angle, and supplying
him with delicious little cups of tea or sweetmeats in the
intervals of smoking, the while she kept him amused with
her witty and clever conversation.

Or perhaps they would listen to the adventures of some
famous chieftain of the country, as recounted by a clever
story-teller, whose imagination and knowledge of the his-
tory and traditions of the people enabled him to weave a
long epic poem, describing the most astounding adventures
in which human beings, jins, sheitans and peris all played
their parts, and which, whilst it kept the group of atten-
dant girls spell-bound and open-mouthed listening to its
recital, amused the Queen and caused John Smith to feel
an ever-increasing respect for the race, which could pro-
duce and appreciate such beautiful thoughts and such deli-
cate imagery, as the "Soother of cares" gave utterance to.

Or perhaps the Queen would order the Palace girls to
dance and sing to them; and generally there was some
business of the State to do, for when a minister asked for

211

an audience he was always admitted, and after his affair
had been discussed, he also, if his rank admitted him to
intimacy, joined the Queen's party and spent the rest of
the evening in the Palace.

It was not all voluptuous lotus-eating, for the Queen was
too clever a ruler to allow her ministers to neglect their
work and fall into indolence. It was only that the way of
living in the East was easier than it could ever be in the
West; and generally speaking, if affairs were consistently
put off until to-morrow, they righted themselves without
actual intervention on the part of persons in authority.

Or whether in. the rough shed on the tin mine inhabited
by the old pawang, after a long day's work walking over
the mines, and under the influence of the delightful lassitude
and tiredness caused by an ice-cold bath, taken standing
under the end of a bamboo conduit, he stretched himself
on his mat spread on the rough splitbamboo floor of the
hut, and had his frugal meal of rice and salt fish; then the
wise old pawang produced his primitive lamp and opium
pipe, which John Smith supplied with opium from the
Queen's Palace, and the smoke then enjoyed was of a
different sort; it was the real soother of the tired body,
and the medicine which kept off the dreaded fever and
ague. The old pawang's tales and conversation, in the
meantime, were most entertaining, and the advice which he
gave as to the journey over the hills into the Perak watershed,
where the Prince of Raman was, came in very useful.

Six days' poling up the river from the mines found John
Smith's party at the end of their journey by water. They
had now to cross a range of hills which divided the Patani
River basin from that of Perak. The Semangs said it was
a seven nights' journey, and that they would have to make
their own camps each night, because there were no inhabitants

212

in the hills except a few Semangs, and the guides did not
seem to wish to take the party near their clearings, because,
they said, of the Siamese and Chinese traders with them,
but probably because they objected equally as much to
the white man.

They promised to guide them to a river where bamboo
rafts could be constructed, on which they might float down
to the country inhabited by the Raman Malays; and the
old pawang at the mines had told John Smith that if he
found a man called Alang Pekan, who was a trader on
the river, he would through him, get to know the Raman
chiefs.

It was toilsome work, but most interesting, walking through
the forest. John Smith hoped to be able to shoot some
wild animals. He had brought with him a beautiful new-
fashioned gun, which had lately been invented, and which
would most likely take the place of the old matchlock.
This gun was fired by a spark produced by striking a
sharp-edged bit of pyrites on a little steel anvil, and was
much more convenient than the clumsy matchlock. But he
found no chance to use this weapon. True tracks of
elephants, tigers, and many other animals were everywhere,
but almost the only animals he saw were the leeches which
fixed on his legs, and the mosquitoes which devoured him
by night.

It was a rest for the party, or at least a change of work,
when they arrived at the river, and having spent a day
constructing bamboo rafts, at last launched themselves on
its waters and started their downstream journey.

It was not -without its pleasurable excitement and its
spice of danger, this raft voyage. In the first place, the
rafts were of the frailest construction, consisting of a double
layer of bamboo poles about four feet wide and fifteen feet

213

long. The passenger or pile of baggage was placed in the
centre of these, and a raftsman at either end. It was all
easy enough in smooth water, but sometimes they had to
shoot down rather steep rapids, and then it was a case of
holding on, and that pretty tightly. As it was, there were
two or three shipwrecks, but luckily no one was drowned,
and the accidents only provoked laughter.

It took them three days rafting to get down to the
kampongf or place where Inchi Alang Pekan lived. There
they found a prosperous community. Both banks of the
river were lined with nice houses, each standing in its own
grove of coconut and fruit trees, and each having its floating
bath-house on the river. There were probably over two
hundred of these houses. As soon as the travellers arrived,
the Penghulu, or Chief of the place, was called. This gentleman
immediatly offered to entertain the party; but on John
Smith enquiring for the house of Inchi Alang Pekan, and
stating that he thought of building a small house for himself,
the Penghulu showed considerable relief, and it came out
that, although he would have done his best, it would have
certainly been a little awkward for him to entertain them,
as he had already a guest, and a very important one too,
namely, a high official sent by the King of Perak to find
out all about the country. He therefore conducted him along
the river bank to the house of the trader, Alang Pekan,
and passed him over to the jatter with evident relief.

Inchi Alang was a Perak man who had migrated to Raman
some years before with his wife and three daughters; or
rather one daughter and two adopted ones, these latter
being the children of his dead sister, who, with her husband,
had died when the girls were little more than babies. 'Che
Alang's own daughter had mysteriously disappeared a few
months before this time. He was himself a small trader, but

214

a person of some considerable influence in the place, as he
was known to be well off.

The men from Patani were sent off to find temporary-
quarters in the mosque ; the Semangs expressed their intention
of going to the forest until their services were again required ;
while a very dirty Chinese shopkeeper promised to put up
the Chinese and Siamese. So 'Che Alang only had to provide
room for John Smith himself, which he seemed to have
great pleasure in doing. The Penghulu retired with many
professions of eagerness to be of service in the future, and
the whjte man's baggage was moved up to the end of the
verandah of the house farthest away from the steps which
led up to the raised floor; and he, hastily finding a sarong
and jacket, ran off down to the river to indulge in a
comfortable bath in the floating bath-house.

He was some time over his bath, and on his return to
the house he first hung up his wet clothes to dry, and
then went up into the verandah with the intention of making
some arrangments about food, as he was very hungry. But
passing on to the inner end he found all his packages
neatly arranged against the wall, and a nice clean mat and
bolsters spread out ready for him, with a stand containing
the materials for chewing siri set beside it. Now siri was
the thing that John Smith wanted most, to stimulate him
after his cold bath, so he proceeded to arrange a mouthful
for himself, and as he was masticating it the door of the
house was opened, and a very pleasantlooking young girl
walked up the verandah towards him. When she arrived
within a few feet of the edge of his mat, she sat down on
the floor in a modest attitude, and saluting him with the
same homage as was proper for a woman towards her chief,
she said that she was the eldest daughter of the house, and
it was therefore her duty to wait on her father's guests.

215

She then asked him if he would be pleased to eat rice, and
on his saying that he was ready, she went into the house
again and brought out a little cooking pot full of steaming
rice, and some small cups of fish and vegetables cooked
with spices, to eat with it. These things she arranged near
her, and seating herself, she gravely served the food on to
her guest's plate; and then, after he had finished eating,
she poured water over his fingers to cleanse them, and
prepared a packet of siri for him to chew.

John Smith noticed that she still wore the gold-wire ear-
rings with a round loop at the end, denoting maidenhood.
She was very shy and went through her duties as hostess with
some considerable hesitation, but he ascertained that her
name was Si Andak, that she had a younger sister, Si Uteh,
and that they were not the real daughters of 'Che Alang
Pekan. His real daughter, 'Che Long, had gone away about
two months before, nobody knew wither, and that this was
therefore the first time the duty had divolved on her to
entertain her father's guest; and as she told him this, she
lifted her eyes to his face in a very appealing and frightened
way, and then asked his permission to take away the remnants
of the meal.

He was by this time well aware of the hospitable customs
of the Malays of these parts, but he decided that he would
the next morning get his men together, and build a little
house for himself somewhere in 'Che Alang's land down by
the river pretending that he intended to stay a long time
and wished to do a little trading. Thinking over these
things made him sleepy, and he knew nothing more until
he awoke the next morning, to find Si Andak watching
him from a respectful distance, and waiting to conduct him
to his morning bath.

He found his men, and set them to work building a small

2l6

house on a spot which 'Che Alang pointed out to him. The
house was finished in four days, for 'Che Alang found many-
willing helpers to build it, but moving into it was quite
another matter. Old 'Che Alang protested against it. He
said he would for ever be disgraced in his own eyes and
in the opinion of his neighbours, if his guest left him to
live by himself. Was not his house and all that it contained
at his guest's disposal? Why, therefore, should he attempt
to put this slight on his slave, and cause him to punish
his daughter with blows, and perhaps worse, for surely it
could only be her fault and neglect of his guest, which
should cause him to wish to leave?

The next time John Smith saw Si Andak, she looked
most unhappy and as if she had been crying; he therefore
told her that he would not move into the house he had
built, and she showed him that she was delighted with his
decision. But he himself was not so happy about it: he
remembered the proverb which compared such a situation
to placing tinder near fire.

CHAPTER XXI.

LA-alla-ha-illa-lah ! LA-alla-ha-illa-lah ! monotonously the
chant went on; La-alla-ha-ILLA-lah ! with a different inflection,
and again another and another inflection, until the band of
Korinchipedlars, who were exercising their vocal organs and
indulging in what they considered to be a meritorious act
of worship, had worked themselves up into an ecstasy of
religious fervour almost maniacal in its symptoms; eyes
rolling, hands pressed into their sides, and toes twitching,
as they sat cros-legged on the mats spread over the bamboo
floor of the little shop which they had honoured by their
presence for the night, and the master of which, staid old
Alang Pekan, sat by in awed wonderment at their antics.

Far into the night they sat and chanted and swayed,
taking no notice of old 'Che Alang's respectful offers of
food and water, his tentative pushing over of the siri stand,
or his timidly offered nipah cigarettes.

Poor old 'Che Alang was nonplussed, he had rarely met
Korinchi men, and had never been present at a seance
such as was taking place now in his little shop. His old
and faithful wife and their two adopted daughters peeped
through the holes in the palm-leaf wall, which divided his
raised house from the small shop on the ground, and watched
the movements and listened to the voices of these strangers
with awe and misgiving; at least the old lady and Si Uteh
did; for Si Andak, since she had known John Smith, had
acquired more courage, and had learnt from him more of

2l8

the ways of the world. She was therefore less subject to
surprise and fear, when she experienced a new sensation
for the first time, and besides, was she not aware that her
new friend was himself all the time only a few yards away
from her at the end of the enclosed verandah, lying on the
best and whitest mats, which she, in the exercise of her
duties as hostess, had spread for him.

She wondered what he was doing whilst all this hubbub
was going on. Was he sleeping through it all? But perhaps
he was reading, or with great difficulty writing, as he always
seemed to be doing when he was in the house, continually
having to sharpen his splendid pen, made from a tail feather
of the argus pheasant he had shot two days before, and
which she thought looked so fine and noble as it trailed
over his shoulder and gently waved about as he moved the
butt-end of it in his writing.

Poor Andak! she was fast becoming foolish with love for
this stranger, who had been staying with them now for
nearly a fortnight, and who, although he had a little difficulty
in making himself understood, by reason of his imperfect
knowledge of the particular patois spoken by these Raman
people, still seemed to her so gentle and kind, and so very
unHke the other men she had seen, that her instincts were
stirred to the utmost, and as she expressed it to herself,
"her liver yearned for him".

It was the first time that she had ever had to take her
position as the eldest daughter of the house, although she
was nearly seventeen years old, because the real daughter
of the old couple, the only child they had ever had, and
who had been almost Hke a twin sister to Andak, had
lately been spirited away; some said by the orang bunyi
(echo spirits), but others, who were more sophisticated,
hinted at budak raja (Raja's followers). However it was,

219

'Che Long was gone, and Andak was now the customary
hostess of the house and must fulfil her duties.

She was glad that the white man arrived before this
band of Korinchis, who seemed to look as if they were
bold, hard men and the leader of whom she would have
been obliged to entertain, if she had not already a guest
of her own. As it was, the old mother would make the
Korinchis free of the well and kitchen, and they would
sleep where they sat, on the raised floor of the little shop,
after they had finished their religious exercises and eaten
their rice and scrap of salt fish, seasoned with the kemunm
shoots, which so disgusted Si Andak, because they smelt
just like the stinking house bug, but without which the very
highly civilized Korinchi seems never to enjoy his food.

Still the monotonous chaunt went on, LA-alla-ha-illa-lah !
but the cadence was altered, it had become more ecstatic,
for the syllables were panted out, rather than sung, as fast
as the tongue could articulate them. The half dozen bodies,
now stripped of everything except the travel-stained white
trowsers, swayed from side to side, the heads dropped from
shoulder to shoulder in an ecstatic hysteria, the sweat rolled
off the smooth faces on to the glistening shoulders, and the
end seemed to be near, when Nature would not be able to
much longer bear the strain of the violent emotions which
the exercise called forth. Already a close observer might
have seen little brass boxes stolen out of waist- belt pockets,
and pills of opium surreptitiously slipped into the gaping
animal mouths, in order to stimulate the flagging energies
for prolonged exertion ; but it was of little avail. The verve
and life had gone out of the song, and one by one the
singers dropped over on to their sides, huddled up into
separate balls of humanity, their arms clasped round their knees,
and their muscles still twitching in the rhythm of the chant.

220

The end was hastened a good deal by the detection of
one of their number when in the act of slipping an opium
pill into his mouth. Although each knew that every one of
his companions took the stimulant, detection in the act of
doing it was disgraceful; so that when the culprit was taken
red-handed, the man who found him out — although he had
himself only just swallowed a pill — sat bolt upright, changed
the cadence of the chant to a loud and long-drawn-out —
"LA-ALLA-HA-ILLA-LAH?" — and pointed with the
forefinger of his left hand to the delinquent. The others,
perceiving the action, immediatly knew what was meant,
joined in the new tune, and literally chanted the shamed
one out of countenance, so that after a few feeble efforts
he collapsed and rolled over on to the floor. The end was
not then long, for the extra exertion of the accusing chant
exhausted the accusers, and one after another they dropped
over into a recumbent position and passed into a trance-like
sleep.

True, for about ten minutes, at intervals, first one and
then another would rouse himself, like an unbeaten cock in
the cock-pit, and with more or less energy shout out the
well-known refrain; but it was only spasmodic and of no
avail, for it merely set the inert limbs of the others twitching
for a minute or two. They were too exhausted even to eat
the rice which had been duly prepared before the seance
began, and it must now be left until the morrow, when
probably it would be found insufHcient to recoup them after
their night's orgie.

Si Andak still contemplated the strange scene from the
other side of the thin palm-leaf wall and poor little Uteh
clung to her in fear and trembling. She was not yet fifteen
years old, and was very frightened. When it was all over,
and silence reigned in the house, the old mother, who had

221

long ceased to take any interest in the singing, said to
Si Andak :

"You must now go and see if the Tiian (Master) is asleep ;
but you must come back immediately, as these strangers
are in the house. If the Tuan asleep, you may be allowed
today to bend over him and smell his breath; and if he is
awake, you may give him these three packets of siri, which
I have prepared, and you may stay by him whilst he enjoys
one of them. But first press the siri to your forehead, and
say "Bismillah!"; then to your lips, saying "Inshallah!"
and lastly to your liver, under your right breast, and say
"Alla-hu-akbar!" If you do this, and if he eats the siri,
good fortune will come to the house, because we shall have
exercised the sacred rites of hospitality, even to the giving
our daughter to the guest sent to us by Allah."

Si Andak did as her foster-mother ordered her, fully
believing in the efficacy of a particular charm which the
old lady had recited as she carefully wrapped up the pinang
(areca nut), kapar (slaked lime) and gambler in the siri
(bet^l) leaf, making a neat little three-cornered packet, with
the stem of the leaf for a handle. Had not this love charm
been taught her by Pawang Onak, the clever old fetish
doctor? And did it not commence with the mystic OM!
and consist of the carefully recorded genealogy of Tuan
Putri Gunong Ladang, (the fairy Princess of Mount Ophir) ?
And was not the old lady word perfect in her recitation of it?

How could it therefore, fail to excite passion, even in an
Orang puteh (white man) ?

The added Mohamadan charm, which a knowing Perak
haji had sold to the old lady for six fine fowls and a gold
nugget as big as the top joint of her thumb, seemed almost
superfluous; but the latter was also recommended to Si
Andak in this case, as perhaps being necessary, because the

222

old lady had heard John Smith talking to her husband
about Nabi Isa, (Jesus) and the Prophet Mohamad, and she
would lose no chance of making Si Andak happy, for she
loved her as much as her own lost daughter; and it was
plain to her that Si Andak was deeply moved by this
stranger, who, the old lady had long since made up her
mind, was the most gentle and polite male of her species
she had ever seen.

So with a few more instructions and a little more whispered
advice, couched in that mysterious bhasa dalani (secret
language used in the feminine freemasonry of that part of
the Peninsula) the old lady sent Si Andak on her mission;
blessing herself fervently, in that she was able to equip her
darling so well with charms, added to her own natural
attractions, as to give her a fair chance of attaining her
dearest desire.

Si Andak herself, too, felt happy and confident, as she
lightly stepped over the gangway between the house and
the kitchen, traversed the kitchen, and crept down the
back stairs of the house, in order to go round to the front
ladder and up into the verandah, where she knew she would
find her guest, asleep or awake. She could not decide which
to hope for. She only knew that she wished to be with
him. Strangely her heart fluttered, and her blood seemed
to warm her face, shoulders and breast, as she slowly and
carefully went round the house, in order not to awaken
her foster-father and his guests. Not that the former would
have disapproved of her errand, but because it seemed to
her that to night, more than on any of the other nights,
when she had gone into the verandah of the house to see
if their God-sent guest required anything more for his
comfort, somehow great events were to happen, and it
behoved her to act secretly, and preserve the mystery of

I

223

whatever might take place in the train of the charms which
had been spoken, as a sacred thing between herself and
him whom she hoped soon to recognise as her worshipped
lover.

Because of this, when in the bright moonlight, which
seemed also to her an added charm, — for the moon was
at the full and glistened through the leaves of the coconut
trees, making strange patterns on the walls of the house,
like enormous centipedes with moving fingers, — she stopped
at the foot of the front ladder and once more pressed the
packets of siri to her forehead, lips and body, forgetting the
difficult Arabic abjurations, but instead uttering the mystic
OM! three times, before she climbed up into the house
and passed along to the end of the verandah, where John
Smith was lying asleep. She was glad of this, for she felt
that she would have been confused and awkward if he had
been awake. She now knew what she had to do: it was
very simple; she had only to place her charmed siri packets
close to his shoulder, where he must find them when he
awoke, just -once lean over him, inhale his breath, then go
back to her own mat beside her young sister and wait
until morning before she saw her hero again. Then she
would accompany him to the river, and perhaps he would
allow her to shampoo him after he had bathed, an attention
to which he had up to the present raised some objection.

Very simple seemed her programme, and she proceeded
to carry it out. She placed the siri in its appointed place,
and then sat down close to his head in the proper maidenly
attitude, with her legs bent under her towards the left, and
leant over him to inhale his breath into her own nostrils.
She felt glad that the torch was nearly out, for somehow,
as her face approached his, she felt that strange fluttering
of her pulses again, and her eyes seemed to grow bigger

224

and to comprehend more the object at which she was
gazing, his face, calm and undisturbed in sleep.

She could not linger, but hurridly and without noise rose
to her feet, with the intention of leaving him; indeed she
had gone half the length of the verandah on her journey
back to her own part of the house, when suddenly she
remembered that the torch would soon go out, and that it
was not safe to sleep without a light in a verandah which,
though supposed to be closed, was practically open, as all
the flaps of palm leaves were strutted out with sticks to
make it more airy. Black panthers had been known to get
into house verandahs, and there were always the hantiis
(malignant spirits) to fear. She shuddered at the thought,
and felt her face go white with fear: she must do something
to protect her beloved.

It was easy to shift the torch-stand farther away from
his face, and stir up the burning end so that it showed a
good light, which could be shaded from the sleeper's face.
It was soon arranged so far as making the torch burn
brightly, but unfortunately for her resolutions, when the
light burnt up brighter it showed up his face more clearly.
Long she stood and watched him in his sleep, afraid to
stay for fear he should awake, perhaps from a lucky dream,
of which awakening she would be the guilty cause; yet
unable to tear herself away, because she so much desired
to see him open his eyes and to hear his voice speaking to
her, always kind and courteous, though distantly polite, as
he had been to her. She thought that during the last two
days, as she had attended to his wants, he had been slightly
more attentive to her. She remembered that he haii admired
the maiden's jacket, which she wore the previous evening,
and which for that reason she wore again to night. Perhaps
if he awoke now and saw her, he might think that she was

\

I

225

at least as pretty as the other girls of the kampong, and
be still more kind to her.

A truly beautiful picture she made as she stood there
dressed in her soft Batik sarong, (the usual peticoat made
of fine hand-painted linen, and brought from Java or Sulu)
and her short virgin's jacket. Prettily worked was this, made
of a thin, light-blue silk from Kelantan, and ornamented
round the collar and wrists with tiny filigree gold buttons.
It was worn generally in the evenings, not from a sense of
modesty to cover Si Andak's firm and round little breasts,
but because it was considered more beautiful than uncovered
Nature; for indeed, during the heat of the day. Si Andak,
like all her neighbours, wore only the one garment, which
was supposed to be fastened over her bosom, high up under
her arms, but which had an indiscreet habit of slfpping
down to her waist, and being fastened there.

She stood and gazed on the sleeping man, and at last it
seemed impossible to her to leave him thus without once
more gazing closely into his face; so she again approached
his mat with the intention of once again putting her nose
and lips near his, but alas for her resolution ! she remembered
that he had told her that in his country people did not
smell each others mouths, but actually pressed their lips
together, as she had seen holy men kiss their own hands
after they had finished their prayers, surely it would not
be very wrong if she just lightly pressed her lips to his
before she went away from him.

Softly once more she sat down near his head, leant over
him and gently kissed him on the mouth. As quietly John
Smith suddenly raised himself to a sitting position and
gazed at her as she crouched covered with confusion, so
close to him. Her kiss had awakened him, and at last he
was conscious that she loved him; and she knew now that

15

226

he knew she loved him; and in spite of the terrible state
of confusion this knowledge threw her into, she was happy.
And her guest, what of him? He had learnt from the
merchants of Patani, and indeed on his long journey up the
river and across into Raman he had been importuned to
accept the hospitality of the country, which withholds
nothing from the Heaven-sent guest, not even the most
prized daughter of the house, but because of his natural
modesty, and perhaps also from a diplomatic desire not to
offend the people amongst whom his lot was cast, from this
extreme hospitality he had refrained. The two girls bestowed
on him by the good Queen were different ; they were merely
slaves of the Palace, and many such odalisques were always
found in the houses of Eastern potentates, and were habitually
given to favoured guests and friends, by way of compliment.

But he was a human animal, and sincere searcher after
the truth and right as his writings prove him to have been,
his walk in life was now amongst this gentle if passionate
and unsophisticated people, and he felt that it behoved him
no longer to refrain from answering the love appeal, which
he had for the last few days seen light up Si Andak's eyes
whenever he had looked into her face. Gently he took her
two little hands into his own right hand, and with his left
arm round her shoulders, drew her towards him, and then
returned to her on her own mouth the sweet little kiss
which she had given to him in his sleep.

He would have spoken to her and asked her what made
her come to him, but she placed her hand on his mouth
and motioned him not to speak for fear of waking the
Korinchis, who were just on the other side of the thin
palm-leaf wall. She slipped from his embrace, and taking
with her his kain preh, (a heavy black silk coverlet), went
towards the top of the ladder, where she stood and beckoned

(

227

him. At last he understood her meaning, and picking up
another coverlet he followed her. At the bottom of the
steps she again awaited him, and led him across the laman
(open cleared space in front of the house), towards the
jungle path down to the river, holding his left thumb in
her right hand.

"Would you walk in the forest during the bright moon-
light. Si Andak?" he asked her.

"No", replied Si Andak. "No, crown of my heart; only
so far as the little house you have built by the river."

And so they passed on their way, for it was towards the
middle of the night. And Si Uteh, when she went down to
the river the next morning, found John Smith and her
sister already there; and she noticed, also, that at last he
had allowed Si Andak to shampoo his shoulders.

I

CHAPTER XXII.

John Smith's host, old 'Che Alang Pekan, was a Perak
man, and the Penghulu of the district was entertaining a
Perak official, who had evidently been sent by the King of
Perak to find out what this country which the Raman
people had colonized was worth, and the Prince of Raman
was said to be allied to Perak. It seemed to the Queen of
Patani's emissary that he was in rather a dangerous place,
and that it behoved him to be a little careful of his
proceedings.

The Korinchi traders who had been stopping for two or
three days in 'Che Alang's house, had come from Perak,
following the river right up from its mouth, where James
Neccy's fleet had called two years before. These Raman
people were therefore living on the main Perak River or a
branch of it. This perhaps seemed a reason why they
should owe allegiance to Perak rather than to Patani, for
John Smith had noticed that these small states nearly all
took their names from rivers.

He had many talks with the Korinchi traders, who by
virtue of their roving life gathered much gossip, which they
retailed with their wares as they journeyed from place to
place; and he ascertained that the transference of the
allegiance of the Prince of Raman had come about in quite
a natural way, hardly requiring the extra incentive of the
quarrel about paying tribute to Siam to bring it about.

The people were without doubt more closely allied to

229

Patani than to Perak, and had only accepted the overlordship
of the latter by compulsion, if indeed they were at one
with their Prince in throwing off their allegiance to Patani;
but the reason was evident, and it seemed a good one
according to what he had learned of the politics of the
Malays, which required that the boundaries between states
should follow the lines of division between the areas drained
by different rivers, and these Raman people had certainly
migrated from their own country drained by the Patani
River, to a district which belonged to the Perak. So perhaps
he was on the wrong side of the dispute, if he tried to
negotiate the return of the Raman people to Patani tutelage.

The other side of the question was that he was an officer
in the service of the Queen of Patani, and therefore was
bound to work for her, whether the case was good or bad;
and that argument was conclusive.

The Prince of Raman lived some two days' journey down
the river. John Smith did not consider it well to visit him
until he had found out more about his character, and also
until he was a little more certain that his people preferred
Patani to Perak, as he imagined they did. It was a game
of intrigue which had to be played, and it was without
doubt a rather difficult one, for the Perak emissary had
been on the ground some time before him, and had thus
been able to tell his tale first. The Malay character being
what it was, this was an immense advantage to Perak.

Malays, as John Smith had already found, were very
children, and would believe anything that was told them.
They would make all sorts of promises to the first comer,
and then the second man who wished to influence them
had a poor chance, for be his case ever so good, he would
find it most difficult to make the Malay alter what he had
committed himself to. Malay pride was never more manifest

230

than in the dread of losing a good name, or being made
to look ridiculous before the world.

Another factor in the matter was the great loyalty-
displayed by all Malays towards their chiefs. It was thus
not an easy task which he had to attempt, and he was
very dubious as to the result.

He had several times met the Perak officer, and had
endeavoured to throw dust in his eyes by declaring himself
to be a merchant, who was merely visiting the country in
the way of business; but it was not likely that he had
succeeded; and indeed, now that he had become more
intimate with Si Andak, he was fast finding out more about
the situation, and began to think that perhaps after all he
had better return to Patani, and see if the Queen was
inclined to regain her control over her revolted vassal by force
of arms, for he felt nearly certain that would be the only way.

He spent some more days doing as little as he could to
make himself conspicuous except as a trader, but then in
that character he was somewhat handicapped, as he had no
goods to sell, and nothing except some gold dust where
with to purchase, and gold dust was not wanted by the
people any more than he wanted what they had to sell, so
that his trading could not but look peculiar to the onlookers.

The chief produce of the country seemed to be heavy
merchandise, like canes, wood oils and other natural forest
produce, which might be profitable to export through Perak
by the river, but would hardly pay to carry over the hills
into Patani. Whilst he was thus considering what was best
to be done, and was carefully trying to find out how the
people liked the idea of being in the grasp of Perak instead
of Patani, an incident occurred, which at any rate made
him popular personally, and in the same degree caused the
Perak man to lose favour.

231

A man was brought home to his house from the forest
who had been badly hurt by a tiger. Now the Perak man
had been boasting a great deal about his prowess as a
hunter, so naturally, when this man was attacked, the people
immediately went to him proposing that he should show
them how to kill the tiger, which had been prowling about
the houses for some time, and had done a good deal of
damage amongst the goats and poultry, but which had
never before attacked a human being. The gentleman from
Perak did not, however, show any alacrity in bestirring
himself in the matter. He gave very good reasons for not
doing so, such as that he had not got his proper spear
with him, and that he required some charms which he had
unfortunately left behind in Perak, etc., reasons which made
it impossible for him to go out and fight the tiger. But the
people all seemed to think that perhaps the most important
item was that he was afraid; and when old 'Che Alang
Pekan told his guest about it, he made him see very plainly
that he thought very little of his compatriot's courage, or
of his chance of gaining the goodwill of the people amongst
whom he had been sent as an emissary, charged to impress
them with the greatness of Perak.

Now John Smith had long wished to meet some wild
animal in its native forest, and to try his strength and
cunning in an encounter with a beast that other people
were afraid of. He had a good deal of confidence in his
new-fashioned gun, having killed several crocodiles with it
in the Patani River, as well as in Africa; and he did not
see, therefore, why it should not be good enough to kill a
tiger with. So he broached the subject to 'Che Alang, and
asked him the best way to set about getting within shooting
distance of this one, which was in the habit of visiting the
neighbourhood ; and in order to find out all they could

232

about it they first visited the man who had been hurt.
This was also a lucky chance for John Smith, as the man
was found to be a great deal torn about by the tiger's
claws and in danger of dying, because the native doctors
were apparently unable to stop the bleeding from a bad
wound in the calf of the leg. This was soon set right, and the pain
being deadened with some of the African salve, the new
doctor proceeded to sow up the worst wounds, and in fact
attended to him so well and made him feel so very much
better by the application of the African salve to his sore
places, that the cure seemed miraculous, both to the patient
and his neighbours. Whilst binding up the man's wounds,
they were enabled to find out all about the habits and
haunts of the tiger, and lay their plans to secure him.

'Che Alang was in favour of setting a trap for him baited
with a live goat, but this did not meet with his guest's
views: for it was his wish to prove himself a better man
than the gentleman from Perak, and to do that he was
willing to run some risks. He explained to 'Che Alang that
if he got a good view of the beast, he felt sure of killing
him with one shot from his musket; but of course the
difficulty was to get into such a position as to be able to
see the tiger before it saw him.

They made a careful examination of the ground about
the place where the man had been attacked, and found
that the tiger had been in the habit of coming from the
forest and crossing a narrow but deep branch of the river —
which ran behind the cultivated land and the houses — by
a fallen tree which was lying from bank to bank and made
a bridge, constantly used by the people when they wished
to go to the forest.

The wounded man had been attacked on the forest side
of this stream just as he was about to cross the natural

233

bridge and he had only escaped with his life by the assistance
of some people who were going fishing in the stream by
torch-light, and who ran across the bridge and frightened
the tiger by flourishing their torches in its face. Now John
Smith conceived the idea of enticing the tiger to the forest
bank of the river, within view of the opposite bank, and
near the bridge, by tying up a goat on the spot where the
man had been attacked. It was the time of full moon, and
it would be almost as light as day, so that if he kept watch
on the goat from the opposite side, himself hidden in some
bushes on the river bank, he should be able to get a shot
and seriously wound the tiger, even if he did not kill it
outright.

He made special provision also for the tiger if he missed
it, or only wounded it slightly, in which event it would
probably be angry enough to cross the river by the fallen
tree to attack, when of course he would only have his
pistol and sword to defend himself with, for it was unlikely
that he would have time to reload his musket. He provided
for this contingency, then, by sawing the tree bridge almost
asunder, so that as soon as the tiger got to the center it
must indubitably fall into the river, bridge and all, when
it would be at such disadvantage that it would be safe to
attack it with the sword.

They made all their preparations, cut the tree through
all but just sufficient to support, it tied up the goat, and
prepared a hiding-place for both of them, left a little boy
to warn people not to cross the bridge, and then returned
to 'Che Alang's house and ate their evening rice together.
Si Andak felt no misgivings about the safety of her guest,
for she was quite confident that he could kill giants if
they came in his way. But instead she gravely asked
her father if it was part of her duty to attend her

234

guest when he went to fight the tiger, and old 'Che
Alang as gravely replied that it was not necessary, as he
intended going with him himself and would see that he
came to no harm.

So when it began to get dusk the two hunters took up
their position on the side of the river near the end of the
bridge. They were carefully concealed behind some bushes,
and could plainly see the goat tied to an areca-nut palm
on the other side of the stream. The poor beast was evidently
in a great fright already, and did not cease to cry and
struggle to get away from its cord.

The sportsmen, also, were not very happy, for the mos-
quitoes seemed determined to do their duty by keeping
them awake, an attention with which they could have very
well dispensed. But it was out of the question to light a
fire and make a smoke to keep them off, as was the usual
custom. This custom, by the way, John Smith had got so
used to, sitting and sleeping in an atmosphere full of pungent
smoke, that id did not now trouble him any more than it
did the Malays.

Now, however, it was a good deal worse, crouching behind
a screen of bushes for hours with no defence against the
blood-thirsty little beasts, whose buzzing was not the least
disagreeable part of their attack, for they dared not use
their hands to beat them off, nor did they feel justified in
swearing at them, at least only inwardly, for fear of letting
the tiger know that they were waiting for him. Many hours
they, thus sat in discomfort and patiently awaited events,
and many times 'Che Alang ventured to hint that perhaps
their friend did not mean to come that night. BerollaJi
dapor, (Revered one of the kitchen) and other affectionate
names he called the tiger, instead of using the real
name of the beast,* "for why" he asked, should they

235

incense him unnecessarily even if they were going to try
to kill him?"

'Che Alang kept himself awake and alert by assiduously
chewing siri. He kept an account of how many quids he
used during the night, by placing in a lump little bits of
stick, one for each quid. John Smith was also provided
with a supply calculated to last him the night through
which Si Andak had prepared them for him, made up into
nice little three-cornered packets, like those she had used
as love charms when the Korinchi traders were in the house.
She had reminded him of the incident when she gave them
to him, and had said she knew that they would be as
potent to bring him back safe and sound to her as the first
ones had been to make him love her, and in his presence
she recited the love-compelling charm, all about the Fairy
princess, commencing with the mystic OM!

He had plenty of time during the night of patient waiting
to remember his sweet little hostess and her constant care
for his comfort, though his thoughts were a good deal mixed
up with cursings addressed to the mosquitoes. It was nearly
dawn before their patience was rewarded, and they were
both of them heartily tired of the lengthy vigil long before
it was over.

The first intimation they had of the tiger's opproach was
hearing the poor goat commence to cry very piteously. She
had apparently been asleep for the last two or three hours
when she suddenly started to her feet and commenced to
bleat in a most distressful way, not struggling to get away
from her tether, as she did when she was first tied up, but
turning herself round restlessly in every direction and uttering
heart-rending cries, as if she knew there was danger some-
where and she could not locate it. This went on for some
little time until she stopped in the middle of a prolonged

236

"Baa-a", and facing the forest, stood as if transfixed with
horror and fright. And well she might, for what she saw
was enough to try the nerves of something stronger than
a poor half-starved she-goat, tied up and helpless.

The watchers on the other side of the river saw it almost
as soon as the goat did, and the sight was not calculated
to fill them with confidence. Between the edge of the river
and the forest, there was a stretch of about fifty yards of
short green turf, which had been grazed close by the domestic
water buffaloes, and across this was creeping a large tiger,
with eyes gleaming and fixed on its prey, and crouching
with its belly touching the ground as it gradually advanced
foot by foot, like a cruel and inexorable fate. And all the
time the poor goat stood still, shivering and awaiting the
coming doom.

The moon rode high in the heavens in a clear and cloudless
sky, and the whole scene was like a picture displayed before
the watchers, whose excitement was so intense that John
Smith has recorded since that he wondered they ever had
power to take part in the forest drama which was being
enacted. Slowly and, as it seemed to the watchers, with
more and more deliberation, the great cat came on, until
it seemed as if it would never compass the distance between
the forest and the goat. Surely it was playing with its
victim ! There never could be any need to so cruelly delay
the spring, which meant death and a release from agony
for the poor destined breakfast of this lord of the forest.
It made John Smith angry to contemplate the sight, but
it braced him effectually for his part in the play. 'Che
Alang, too, now grasped his broad-bladed spear with deter-
mination.

And then, suddenly, the end came. The tiger was within
twenty feet of its quarry, crouching as rigidly as if turned

237

to stone; and the poor goat was still in the same attitude
as if she too ivas petrified. They could fancy that her mouth
was still open to emit the "Baa-a" which was arrested half
uttered. Next they saw the tiger's tail wave once from side
to side, and then the lithe body was launched through the
air, to fall with a soft thud to the ground, with the goat
somewhere underneath. Another "Baa-a" was half uttered
but not finished ; and then they heard another noise, half
purr, half gurgle, as the great beast buried its teeth in the
throat and breast of its victim and sucked the warm blood
as it lacerated the flesh and tore open the chest to get at
the still palpitating heart.

'Che Alang nudged his companion : now was the time.
John Smith took a most careful aim. There were not more
than twenty yards between the muzzle of his gun and the
tiger, so it seemed almost certain that he could plant a
bullet direct in the brain. But he did not: he missed the
head altogether. But his shot took effect in the shoulder.
This only stirred the tiger to anger without severely wounding
it. It immediately perceived where its assailants were, and
with a bound and a savage snarl sprang on to the bridge
to get at them; but the bridge collapsed with its weight
and fell with it into the stream. This fall and the wound
as well perhaps confused the brute, for instead of making
for the bank on which its enemies stood prepared to receive
it, it proceeded to climb the other bank, thus exposing to
view the whole of its back. John Smith prayed for better
luck, and got it, for his pistol bullet sped so well that the
tiger tumbled back into the river with a broken spine, and
there it floated helplessly until it managed to claw the
bank with its front paws and hold itself there, for its
hind legs were useless, and it could not climb. So it clung
there long enough for the pistol to be reloaded, and

I

238

for John Smith to get a bullet into its brain, giving it its
quietus.

The noise of the firing brought several people to the
spot, and they promised to get the dead tiger ashore. So
the tired hunters gladly left them in charge, and went
home to get some sleep after their night of watching and
final triumph.

I
I

CHAPTER XXIII.

John Smith got, as we say now, great kudos for this
exploit, and the Perak man sank proportionately in the
estimation of the people. Old 'Che Alang, Perak man though
he was, declared that if his master, the King of Perak,
could not send a more courageous man to look after his
interests in the province of his new vassal, he would certainly
not remain Suzerain long, as the people would persuade
their chief to go back to his old allegiance to Patani, and
rightly too.

John Smith's fame as a mighty hunter soon got about
the country, and he began to hear of other exploits to
perform, but he did not propose to risk either his life or
his reputation by a too eager rush after adventures. He had
done well in this first one, but the next might not turn
out so successfully. So he spent the next few days quietly,
and by way of improving the good opinion the people had
of him, he set himself to assiduously nurse and doctor the
man whom the tiger had wounded.

About this time there was news brought up river that an
extraordinary beast had been seen in the forest at a place
a day's journey down stream, called Bendang Tuan Putri
Ayer Angat. (The padi fields of the Princess of the hot
springs.)

The beast was said to be a fiery-horned rhinoceros and

240

most extraordinary tales were told about it. Some said that
its horn spouted fire; others merely that the horn glowed
like a live brand in the dark; but all agreed that it was of
enormous size and that it was invulnerable. It had been
seen by several people, and one man had been killed by
it, trampled to death and torn to bits by the terrible horn,
and it was averred that the poor man's flesh was scorched
as if with fire, or seared by a red-hot iron. Another man
had been chased, and had only escaped with his life by
climbing up a big tree, where the furious beast had kept
him for a whole day and night, guarding his prisoner with
extraordinary assiduity, and using at the same time the
most cunning devices to induce him to descend so that he
could attack him, sometimes pretending to sleep, and at
others going away a short distance. Luckily the man was
not deceived, and stuck tight to his tree. This man also
declared that the base of the tree was all scorched by the
fiery horn of the beast, when, in its rage at not being able
to get at its prey, it charged the tree again and again and
scored the bark with its horn.

The invulnerability of the beast was not so well authen-
ticated, as nobody seemed to have had courage enough to
attack it; but then, as John Smith very well knew, the
skin of a rhinoceros is so thick that it wants a good deal
of killing.

He was very anxious to go after this beast, and persuaded
'Che Alang to find out all about it. The latter, however,
was much averse to the expedition, by reason of its danger,
but being over-ruled by his guest, he made arrangments for
the journey, first sending a quick messenger down-stream
to the chief of the district where the rhinoceros was said
to be, to get everything ready, so that they could go after
it the same night they arrived, otherwise the moon

241

would be too old to give enough light for their purpose.
'Che Alang was most particular about keeping this expedition
secret especially from the Penghulu of his own village. He
did not say so openly, but John Smith could see very plainly
that he was suspicious of the Perak officer, who had extra
reason now to consider him his enemy. 'Che Alang very
much regretted that the Queen of Patani's token of authority,
the changi piitri, had been seen in his guest's hands although
it had not been used officially, for he was afraid that there
was little chance of hiding the fact that his guest was there
with the Queen's authority, and Perak Malay though he
was, he evidently rather favoured Patani rule, and especially
was he proud and fond of his guest.

They started before daylight the next morning in 'Che
Alang's trading boat, as if they were merely going down-
stream with a load of canes, and the changi putri was
carefully hidden under the floor of the boat. 'Che Alang
and his men, however, were all well armed, and the little
swivel guns, called lelas, which the prahu carried, were
placed ready for emergency with a good supply of powder
and ball. It was, of course, an unheard-of thing to travel
about in those days unarmed, but 'Che Alang seemed to
make a point of being particularly well prepared for this
journey, and when he took his place beside his guest in
the covered part of the prahu which served for a cabin,
he told him that he was suspicious that perhaps the Perak
officer might attempt to do him some injury, although he
thought it would be difficult for him to persuade any of
the people of the village they had just left to attack him.
He was, however, certain of one thing, and that was
that a messenger had been sent down-river, probably for
instructions.

They got down te stream safely, landed at the Penghulu's

i6

242

bath-house early in the afternoon, and were escorted by
him to his house, where arrangements were made for them
to start for the hot springs almost at once, as they wanted
to get there and send back the elephant on which they
were to travel, before dark. 'Che Alang, the Penghulu, John
Smith and one of the Penghulu's followers were to be the
party to wait for the rhinoceros. They got to their destination
well before dark, and then proceeded to make their arran-
gements for the night.

First, the elephant was taken along the edge of the open
space where the hot springs had killed all vegetation, and
from the top of his back they saw the track made by the
rhinoceros as he came nightly to wallow in the hot water.
It was a well-beaten path, and from the freshly-broken twigs
it was plain that it had been used only the night before.
The Penghulu pointed out the great size of the footprints
in the soft clay. They were, as he said, almost as large as
the marks made by the elephant they were riding. It was
a lovely spot, an open glade in the dense forest, perhaps
five acres in extent. On two sides it was bounded by a
high limestone bluff, rising like a gigantic white wall two
hundred feet sheer from the level of the ground, with great
creepers and shrubs springing out of its crevices and clinging
to its precipitous face.

The hot water bubbled up all over this open space,
which was indeed neither more nor less than a small lake
of hot mud only slightly covered with water, from the
surface of which light clouds of steam continually rose and
floated in the air. The only signs of life were some splendid
green-and-black-striped butterflies, skimming from side to
side of the glade, now soaring to the tree tops and then
darting after one another in insect warfare.

Their elephant stepped gingerly along the edge of this

243

hot mud lake. He evidently enjoyed the warm feeling in
his feet, for he expressed his satisfaction by pleased guttural
purrings in his trunk, and by sucking up through it the
warm water, with which he bathed his sides and belly; but
sometimes he inadvertently dipped his trunk into a pool
which was especially hot; his disgust and astonishment were
then very amusing.

The elephant was ultimately drawn up close to the limestone
wall, and then they became aware of an irregular hole in
the face of it into which they all scrambled. They found
themselves in a small cave overlooking the glade. The
elephant was sent back to the kampongs, and its driver
was instructed to come for them early the next morning.
Then they made their arrangements for their night watch.
It was just getting dusk when they scrambled into the cave,
the entrance to which was about twelve feet from the ground.
It appeared from the outside just like an irregular hole in
a sheer white wall of nearly two hundred feet in height.
The cave was small, sloped downwards, and twisted like a
spiral staircase to another opening level with the ground,
behind an irregular buttress-like projection. The floor was
strewn with boulders and broken stalactites, so that it was
not a very comfortable place to abide in. The hole by which
they got in was screened by some bushes and hanging
lianas.

John Smith had his flintlock musket, and he had lent old
'Che Alang a fine matchlock which he had brought with
him from Patani. The Penghulu and his follower had no
arms except the inevitable kris and a strong, broad-bladed
spear each. They were astonished at the firearms; and even
'Che Alang, although he handled the matchlock with a good
deal of reverence and some pretended knowledge, only held
it by way of compliment to his guest. He confessed that

244

he was afraid to fire it and had refused to have anything
to do with it when they went after the tiger. They ate
their meal of cold rice and dried fish which they had
brought with them, and settled down as comfortably as they
could for their night watch, with plenty of siri to chew,
and nothing else to do but wait.

But oh ! the beauty of the scene and the enthralling
interest of the surroundings, as the shadows of evening
quickly gathered over the lovely glade ! The sun went down,
almost, it seemed, a dusky curtain was drawn across the
scene; and as the gloom gathered, John Smith fancied he
could see the Fairy Princess, the mythical mistress of the
imaginary padi fields, gliding out of the forest shadows with
her troupe of attendant fays and sprites to disport themselves
in the warm waters of the spring. He could, in his mind's
eye, follow their fairy footsteps as they tripped over the
soft, warm mud, never sinking into it, nor leaving any track
on its surface. Not wanting, either, was music for their
revels, for the schrill cicada piped out a high-toned measure,
accompanied by the deep bass notes of the great bull-frogs,
which rived in the cooler mud on the outskirts of the glade,
where vegetation commenced to assert itself. The great
mantis, also, which lurked in the hollow bamboos, out its
diapason at intervals, and the intermittent twitterings and
contented cries of birds going to roost mingled with the
„tipta-bau" of the goat-sucker, as he started on his nightly
hawking amongst the insects, — a bird which at the exact
and proper moment calls the good Mohamadan to his
^menghrib" prayers, as punctually as the cry of the muezzin
from the tall minaret in some Eastern city of palaces, or
as in that very country the mungkim of the Malay mosque
beats the slackened skin of the great drum, first with
measured beats and then with mufiied, confused taps, that

245

sound far and wide in earnest appeal to the nonchalant
worshippers of Malaya.

And then it was almost dark; the sun had disappeared,

and his consort of the night had not yet risen above the

horizon; stars started into light like huge glow-worms, but

not with sufficient power to conquer the gloom. It was not

twilight, for there was too marked a change between the

garish light of the day and the sudden fall of night. Seeming

as though there was no time for animated Nature to sink

to repose, the afterglow of the setting sun had faded out

almost in a minute, and the pall of night had closed down,

pricked out only with the innumerable stars of the tropics.

And so passed two hours, short ones enough to the interested

watcher and listener in the forest. And then the glory and

splendour of the moon forest-glade ! All in a moment it

came. First the white light filtered through the trees on the

opposite side of the open space, causing ghostly shadows

to move with ghostly quiet and slowness over the shimmering

water and mud of the hot lake, and twisting into fantastic

shape the wreaths of white steam which ever rose and

drifted about over the level surface, from points where the

hot water bubbled up from the depths and spread out to

make the quaking lake of water and mud. Truly the poetic

trend always present in the imagination of the indolent and

lotus-eating Malay, was justified in peopling this lovely

scene with fairies and sprites, and in picturing a fairy

princess as their leader and quite in accordance also with

their practical common-sense, was it for them to attribute

her presence and being to the necessary requirements of

life; she was there to plant padi for food, for life and poetry

could not exist without animal sustenance. Higher and higher

rose the white moon, until, in almost an incredibly short

space of time, she overtopped the trees and looked down

246

on the open glade, bathing everything in light, and
causing ugly logs of fallen timber to appear lovely, and
mud and slime to glisten like shot silk, spread out like
a floor of irridescent glass on which fairies might dance
with propriety. The white wreaths of steam hardly showed
now, the whiter light of the moon seeming to absorb
them, and only their attenuated and ghostly remains could
be distinguished. Soon animated Nature, as if awakened
by the increasing light, reasserted and disported itself,
following these ghostly harbingers of the drama in the
tropical forest.

First came a pair of porcupines. A mighty monarch of
the forest, a tree with a straight and branchless bole of
near a hundred feet had fallen from the edge of the glade
and stretched out over the moonlit, glittering mud. It looked
like a white and ghostly bridge, for it ended abruptly where
its crown had decayed away and disappeared under the
mud, succumbing to the disintegration of time and to the
powerful jaws of white ants. Along this white bridge the
porcupines advanced. Timidly and in short runs they came,
stopping at intervals, and sometimes retreating to the forest;
but finally, reaching the end of the great log and squatting
on their haunches like two great squirrels, they sat in the
full moonlight some ten feet above the surface and ate their
evening meal of hard-shelled-jungle nuts, which each had
brought along in its mouth. The sound of their gnawing
teeth reached the listeners in the cave, and ever and anon
could be distinguished the faint skirl of their tails, as they
caused their quills to vibrate, either in warning each to the
other, or in anger at the thought of interruption, for they
often stopped to listen to some fancied indication of danger.

Soon they were joined by a family of sambhur deer. First
the lordly stag stepped out of the shadow of the forest,

247

elevating his muzzle until his horns lay back on his shoulders.
He sniffed the warm air for any sign of danger, and then
with stately steps advanced farther out into the moonlight.
Again, throwing up his head he uttered his barking, bell-
like note of invitation, to call his family to the enjoyment
of a wallow in the soft, warm mud. Timidly they appeared,
two does, each with a fawn at her heels; and carefully
they searched about for a convenient place, not too hot
and not too cold, until, satisfied with their choice, they
sank down in a group and rolled and wallowed in delightful
abandonment.

A long interval passed, until presently there was a cracking
of branches and the sound of a heavy advance, which made
John Smith clutch his gun with nervous fingers. But no!
not yet was the expected quarry to come into view, although
the sound came from the direction from whence he was
expected. This time it was a mighty bison, with his harem
of three cows and two calves, that burst out of the trees
and tangled undergrowth. Great and truculent-looking beasts
they were, and twice the size of the heavy black-and-white
domestic cattle of Holland, John Smith thought they must be.
With a snort and a roar the angry-looking bull first dug
his horns into the mud, and then, taking no notice of the
herd of deer, he chose a wallowing-place for himself and
his family; and the soft, warm mud soothed them also to
rest and contentment. And all the time an interminable
line of great fruit bats sailed across the open sky to some
distant feeding-place, away far in the forest. Thousands must
have passed, because for hours, each time John Smith lifted
his eyes to the heavens, still they came and disappeared
in the distance. Two huge white owls with great staring
eyes twice or thrice essayed to fly into the cave, but with
their night-sharpened vision they perceived the occupants,

248

and retreated to an ancient adjacent tree, where they perched
and hooted indignantly. They were the only visitors to the
glade that became aware of the presence of unwonted
intruders, and they told not the news to the rest, but at
last sat and discussed it between themselves in soft purrings
and subdued hootings. Most likely they had a nest with
young somewhere in the darkness of the cave.

Long ere this, the three Malays, who had not felt the
charm of the night so keenly, and to whom each incident
of the forest drama was but a customary thing, had curled
up in sleep, and John Smith alone, with eager eyes and
strained senses, watched each ensuing event, and waited
patiently for the expected other visitor to the glade. Easily
he could have shot a bison or a stag, but he would not;
and indeed so entrancing was it to watch these strange
denizens of the forest as they lived in their own natural
place, and as no white man had ever watched them before,
that he doubted, even if the fiery-horned rhinoceros wallowed
before him within easy range, whether he could find it in
his heart to disturb the natural order of events by firing
at him.

And thus well on towards dawn he waited and watched
before the mighty beast arrived on the scene; and then he
saw it not. There was a heavy tread and a crunching of
small branches as it slowly advanced, cropping the tender
shoots as it came. John Smith awoke his comrades, the
smouldering match of 'Che Alang's gun was coaxed into a
glow, and they had time to train their guns on the track
by which at other visits the beast had entered the glade.
Then, with finger on trigger and with poised muskets, they
waited whilst one might count three hundred slowly, and
then — well then they laid aside their guns and stared
each other in the face, for there was nothing to fire at.

249

They heard the slow approach, nearer and nearer, until
their nerves were strained to the utmost pitch of excitment,
and their fingers grasped the guns so hard that the flesh
seemed one with the iron, but they saw nothing. Nearer
and too near came the unwieldy tread, until it passed right
under their well-chosen post of observation ; and as if in
derision, the great beast rubbed its rough side along the
solid wall under the mouth of the cave, gave utterance
to a satisfied grunt, and passed on round the corner of the
buttress to wallow there out of sight of its enemies.

Easily, if they had had time to change their positions,
could they have stretched their bodies out of the hole in
the wall, and have thrust their broad-bladed spears into
its back, and with safety, for it could not climb up to
them ; but it passed by and they did not even see it. Gravely
the Penghulu and 'Che Alang agreed that he was kramat
and ber-tna (sacred and invulnerable), and that it was useless
to try to harm such a beast; so they curled up again to
finish their sleep, and the eager white man was left to
watch and hope that he would come out again into the
open mentally promising himself that if he did he would
not fire at him, nor awaken his friends, but just watch him
as another incident of that eventful night.

But he did not come forth, and soon dawn came instead,
and with it a great awakening of birds and insects. One
by one, in the order in which they had arrived, the different
groups stole off into the depths of the forest; and long
before the sun was near enough to his rising to quench the
moonlight, the glade was once more clear of its nocturnal
visitors, and with the first rays of the rising sun their
elephant drew up under the mouth of the cave.

The disappointed hunters descended and easily found the
wallow where their escaped quarry had spent two or three

250

hours. There they saw his track into the forest, and still
another evidence of his supernatural affinity was then forth-
coming, for his wallow was a double one, and his tracks
showed that he had as a companion a sambhur deer. Once
more 'Che Alang and the Penghulu looked wise and asserted
the awful character of the beast; but a sneering remark of
the elephant driver, to the effect that the women would
laugh at the return empty-handed of the great white hunter,
was enough to set both John Smith and his faithful friend,
'Che Alang, thinking what should be their next proceeding.
John Smith proposed following the track until they came
up with their game, while 'Che Alang rather favoured
digging pit-falls in the track by which it had entered the
glade that night and previously. The Penghulu, on his part,
agreed to do whatever his visitors wished, so long as they
killed the beast, of which his people were now in the
greatest fear and dread. So both alternatives were agreed to.
The elephant was sent back for a party of diggers and
tools; and the hunters, after eating a few handfuls of rice,
started to follow the trail. And now the white hunter writes
that he was not quite so pleased with the reputation which
he had established, for it was obvious that he must be the
leader of the little string of four, who were to follow the
trail single file through the forest. He was consoled a little
by 'Che Alang, who said that the rhinoceros would certainly
only have gone a short distance, and would be found in a
wallow in a thick, shady part of the forest, certainly
within half a mile of the hot springs. This was a little
consoling; but half a mile of tracking with naked feet —
for quiet was absolutely necessary — over ground which
was not entirely destitute of thorns, with the constant
expectation of being charged by a ferocious beast, and the
improbability of being able either to get out of his way or

251

^^Bto shoot quickly enough to stop his headlong rush, was not
calculated to make a man who had had little experience of
the work exactly comfortable, and he takes some credit to
himself that he went through with it without allowing the
others to see his nervousness. Very slowly and cautiously
I^Bthey crept along the track, stopping to listen and to peer
I^Wnto the forest at every few steps, and prepared to dash
behind trees to avoid a sudden charge. Before they had

I gone half a mile they came up with their quarry, or at
least nearly so. There was a sudden rush in the forest in
front of them, as the heavy beast got to his feet and bolted,
luckily perhaps for the hunters, not in their direction.
John Smith records that he thinks he might have fired
his gun if he had seen the brute; but perhaps he would
iiave thrown it away and provided only for his own safety
by getting behind the nearest tree. At any rate he was
devoutly thankful that the rhinoceros, by going the other
way, saved him from running the risk of lowering his
prestige before the others.

Well ! the quarry was gone, and it was hopeless to think of
going further after it now that it had been once disturbed.
However, they followed the trail up to the wallow, where
it had lain back to back with its friend, the sambhur deer.
The impression of both their bodies was quite distinct, and
its cowardice in running away, instead of attacking its
enemies, was accounted for by the two wise Malays, who
were both quite certain that it had become timid because
it feared for the safety of its friend.

So far it was not so very unsatisfactory to our friend : he
was never a great hunter, and was perhaps more pleased
with what he had seen than if he had killed the rhinoceros,
and especially so as his friends were quite content to applaud
his courage in making the attempt.

252

By the time they had returned to the cave and had
eaten a more substantial meal, the elephant came back
again from the kainpong with a party of men and with
some tools; so they at once proceeded to dig and prepare
four pitfalls in the most likely places; after which they
returned to the Penghulu's house, where they spent three
days, John Smith in ingratiating himself with the people,
and 'Che Alang in forwarding that praiseworthy object.

On the second morning of their stay word was brought
in that the rhinoceros was in one of the pitfalls, and they
went out to secure it. A single shot carefully planted in its
brain through the ear dispatched it, and all the credit was
given to the white man for the kill. The horn was even
hacked off and presented to him. Now this was no mean
concession, for rhionceros horns were in all Malay states a
royal perquisite and were be supposed to be immediately
taken to the King, the Penghulu or chief of the district
being responsible for their safe delivery. In this case, the
chief, when he presented the horn to John Smith, eased
his conscience by saying he gave him the horn to forward
to the throne, diplomatically refraining from saying which
throne. But this was to cause trouble hereafter.

The rhinoceros was not, after all, such an important beast
as was stated, for it was not more than the average size
and certainly possessed no supernatural attributes; but as
with the tiger, the slaying of it gained the slayer great
credit, and when it was cut up to be divided amongst the
people, the skin and flesh of the face, properly the portion
of the local chief, were carefully smoke-dried and presented
to the white man with the customary homage due to chief.
This special portion was considered the pick of all the meat,
and the recipient ate broth made from it for several weeks,
and found it most nourishing.

253

There was no Perak agent at this place, and the people
openly said that they were as willing to accept Patani as Perak
for their overlord, so here at any rate the Queen*s agent
was able to congratulate himself that he could report favou-
rably to his mistress. It took them two days to pole up the
river again to 'Che Alang's house, where they were cordially
welcomed home and a good deal applauded as brave hunters.

CHAPTER XXVI.

On arrival they found the Perak official still staying with
the Penghulu and now most anxious to ingratiate himself
with John Smith. He ignored the fact that the latter was
an accredited agent of the Queen of Patani, and pretended
to believe the account that he gave of himself, namely,
that he was a merchant travelling about to trade and
establish mercantile connections with the chiefs of the
country, for their mutual benefit. This was, of course, only
pretence, because the Penghulu, who had received him at
first and had seen the changi putri which he carried, had,
because of that, apologised for not entertaining him, giving
as his reason that he was entertaining a Perak agent and
was afraid that there might be difficulties; and in fact
everybody in the place knew all about it: indeed it was
the real reason why the gentleman from Perak had not
attempted to become friendly with him.

But now all was altered, and every day Inche Ahmad —
as the gentleman was called — made a point of spending
as much time as possible with his rival, trying to persuade
him to go down the river to visit the King of Perak. He
extolled his country to the utmost, and enlarged upon the
power and glory of his King, whom he represented to be
one of the most potent monarchs of the earth, a lineal
descendant of Iskander-al-Zekernain (Alexander the Great);
or rather he ascribed to him a much more miraculous ancestry.

255

I He told the history of the first Malay kings from whom
the King of Perak claimed descent. It was an interesting
tale, and John Smith took the pains to write it down
shortly in his notes.
It appeared, from Inche Ahmad's tale, that Alexander
the Great once made a descent on to a hill, called Bukit
Maha Meru, in the State of Menangkabau in Sumatra. He
was riding on a white cow which flew through the air. At
the time of his descent, the country which was governed
by patriarchal chiefs, not by kings, was very prosperous,
being noted for its fine rice crops; and two daughters of
the chief of the district were engaged in reaping the padi.
His arrival caused miraculous manifestations to take place.
The corn turned to gold and the leaves and padi stalks to
silver all over the hill padi fields. The two young women
also were especially honoured, for as soon as the cow touched
earth, she vomited, and from the vomit sprang two young
and handsome men, beautiful as fairies.

These strangely-born men were immediately dubbed princes
by the puissant monarch who rode on the cow, and were
ordered to take the two women to wife, which they did,
and from them have sprung the long line of Perak Kings,
even down to this day. Much more did 'Che Ahmad tell
John Smith of the glories of Perak, its monarch and his riches.

He said that tin could be had in any quantity and at a
very cheap rate, and instanced the fact that two years
before some white men in great ships — a different race
from the Feringhis who held Malacca, and who v/ere detested
by all Malays — had sailed up the Perak River from the
sea and had started trading; but they had had to buy their
tin very dear, as the chief of the port was a very shrewd
trader, and also because the tin passed through so many
hands that of course it was dear at the mouth of the river.

256

But if, on the other hand, a trader bought the tin up country,
he could take prahu loads of it down river and store it
until his ships arrived to take it away.

John Smith took the opportunity to let 'Che Ahmad
know that it was his own friends who went up the Perak
River, and that he also was with them. It was a good
opportunity to forward the interests of the house of Neccy,
and to impress him with the an idea of the importance of
the white race, in exchange for the tales he had told of
Perak's greatness.

He had no intention at all of wavering in his loyalty to
the Queen of Patani, but at the same time he did not see
any use in openly declaring his mission, as, if he did so,
*Che Ahmad would have no choice but to declare his enmity,
and use his influence with the Prince of Raman to have
him arrested, or even killed. Che Alang had already ascer-
tained that the messenger, who had been sent down river
by 'Che Ahmad on John Smith's first arrival, had returned,
and had brought some word from the Prince of Raman,
what it was 'Che Alang could not find out; but at any rate,
to it might probably be ascribed the altered behaviour of
'Che Ahmad.

'Che Ahmad, finding that all his endeavours to induce
John Smith to go downriver and visit the King of Perak
were without avail, now proposed that he should send the
rhinoceros horn down to the King, hinting pretty plainly
that it was of course necessary for him to do so, because
the King of Perak was now supreme in Raman, and the
royalties all belonged to him.

For a long time he evaded this question in different ways,
urging at last that he wished to keep it himself as a trophy
of the first rhinoceros he had ever had a hand in killing;
but he said that, if it was really due to the King of Perak,

257

he would, when he visited that State, most certainly deliver
lit up, and at the same time ask for permission to purchase
it from the King. With this promise 'Che Ahmad professed
to be content; but they found out that he had sent other
messages down the river, and 'Che Alang did not disguise
his anxiety from his guest. He told him that 'Che Ahmad
had been sounding him as to his own loyalty to the King
of Perak, and hinting that, as the white man came from
Patani, it was his duty to keep a watch on him and report
to the King's agent if he found him doing anything to
damage the King's authority. 'Che Alang declared that he
was quite indifferent himself whether the Queen of Patani
or the King of Perak held sway in Raman ; he was a trader
and had nothing to do with questions of state, but of one
thing he assured John Smith, and that was his loyalty to
him personally. He was his guest sent by God, was therefore
under his protection, and his honour required that he should
defend him with his life, which he would certainly do,
whether he was attacked by common robbers, the wild
beasts of the forest, or even by the King, of Perak himself.
His life was more sacred to him than the lives of his wife
or his children, and besides all that, he had cause to love
him as a son, as also had his wife; and as for Si Andak,
the child of his adoption, his guest could judge for himself
whether she would easily brook any injury being done to
her friend, whom she now looked upon as her own guest;
while even the little maid Si Uteh would fight tooth and
nail in defence of her comrade in many a forest ramble and
expedition in search of fish or mussels or water snails, when
she and her sister had playfully compelled him to assist
them to bail out some hole in a stream. On these occasions
they had got their bodies and scanty clothing saturated
with water and so be — plastered with mud, that the frolic

17

always ended in a plunge in the clear river, and such a
frank washing-up in company as would probably have
greatly shocked the prim Duch maidens and their mothers
whom John Smith used to know, and who seemed to him
now to be but poor and insipid members of the great human
family, compared with the children of Nature with whom
for the last two or three years of his life he had associated.

Who would live in cities and cumber himself with the
stiff doublet and hose of so-called civilization, when the
forest and the tropical warmth invited him to its umbrageous
shades, and when he need only don the scanty clothing
which would allow free and unrestrained use of his limbs?

Who would worship his God in the most gorgeous cathedral
built by man's hands, in set terms and phrases, in prescribed
attitudes, and using gestures and genuflexions according to
the dogmatic ordering of self-appointed religious leaders,
when the forest glade and the open plain, the margins of
the most beautiful rivers, or the groves of mighty trees on
the tops of tropical hills, invited him to be still, and in
lonely contemplation to worship the All God of Nature?

How compare the busy and dishonest traffic of Europe,
its crude and selfish racfe for supremacy, and its disregard
for anything except getting the better of one's neighbours
with the suave and polite intercourse of Asia, where the
defeated in a game of intrigue, or even of a trade rivalry,
can console himself that no insult was exchanged in the
contest, nor anything said or done to make either side
regret, except the loss of the game?

Where is the modesty of behaviour or apparel, in the
suggestiveness with which the civilized man or woman — often
by deforming the human body — directs attention to some
particular point of his or her personal beauty of form or
feature, as compared with the almost unclothedness of the

259

child of Nature, in the warm zone of the earth, whose
scanty drapery is carelessly and frankly disposed about her
person, with no thought of anything except to cover the
body* a little, because other people do so ?

And it is quite certain that the law of marriage, whereby
one man and one woman are irrevocably tied together for
their natural lives, be they suitable or unsuitable for such
a thraldom, is better than the easy and flexible rule of less
highly cultured peoples, who know no constraint, but join
and part as freely and frankly as the birds?
Where in all Europe would he find the man who was
willing to sacrifice not only his life, but his family also in
defence of his guest? The touchy and punctilious honour of
the West, which could take fire at a sneer, would perhaps
flinch at the prospect of such a sacrifice in defence of the
"stranger within the gates."

The proud Castilian might ofler the keys of his house to
his guest — a ceremony which he had adopted from the
Moors who had over-run his country — but which both he
and his guest, even while the ofler was made, knew was
only an empty form; yet how much more thoroughly had
the unsophisticated Malay caught the spirit of the custom
from his Arabian teachers.

It only wanted the spice of danger which realised now
threatened him, to make his present life perfect, and willingly
would he have stayed to see it through; but there was the
danger to his friends to consider. It is true that not a hint
of this fell from the lips of old 'Che Alang Pekan, but it
was very evident that it was there and imminent; and so
he made up his mind to leave his pleasant quarters and
seek some other village. Indeed, if he was to eftectively
continue his mission, it was now quite time that he did so.
He had as yet only tried the temper of two places, and

26o

they had pretty unanimously declared for his mistress, for
'Che Alang was quite certain the Penghulu was more in
his favour than 'Che Ahmad's, whatever he might think of
the merits of the two States; but of course he was unable
to declare himself all the time the latter was staying in his
house, where he had taken up his abode apparently more
or less permanently and as if by right, living, he and his
followers, free of charge, and behaving in too arrogant a
manner to quite please his host.

'Che Alang was of the opininion that it would be safer
for his guest to absent himself for a while and await events
a little. He did not think that 'Che Ahmad would venture
to use violent measures to coerce his rival in any way,
because there was too strong a party against him, and also
he had probably got his orders to try and persuade the
white man to go to Perak.

There was a high officer of state from Perak stationed
at the Court of the Prince of Raman, under whom 'Che
Ahmad and two other Perak officials were acting in different
parts of the province; but 'Che Alang was quite certain
that even he would not dare to offer violence to one whom
he could not help knowing was a friend of the Queen of
Patani. What he was afraid of was that, as soon as he had
had time to get a messenger to the King of Perak, the
latter would order him to arrest, if not to kill, John Smith,
and would send a sufficient force to over-awe his friends.
Therefore the best way to avoid this was by leaving the
field clear to 'Che Ahmad.

'Che Alang, it wil be remembered, had grave suspicions
that his daughter, 'Che Long, had been stolen by somebody
in the service of the Prince of Raman; and he thought
that if he could get away from the village he would be
able to institute something in the way of a search for her.

26 1

If the Prince had got her, she was without doubt in his
palace and safely guarded; but even safely guarded captives
are sometimes rescued, and 'Che Alang was very much in
hopes that the Semangs who came from Patani would assist
in the work of searching for her. There were also the
Patani men, but some of these men had to be sent back
to Patani with a letter to the Queen, explaining how the
mission was getting on.

So John Smith wrote a long letter to the Queen, giving
her all the news, and assuring her of the friendly feeling of
the Malays in two important parts of the province. Also he
told her all he could about the Perak agents, and advised
that she should send two or three officers of some standing
to assist him in counter-acting the Perak influence. He
thought she should send a mission at least twice as strong
as the Perak one. He finished his letter by assuring the
Queen that he held the rhinoceros horn — which he would
not trust to his messenger — on her behalf, and would
defend it with his life until he was able to deliver it into
her own hands.

Then one morning, having previously informed 'Che Ahmad
that they were going on a trading expedition to a tribe of
Semangs, who had collected a lot of rattans and wood oil
in the hills four days' journey away, they started on two
elephants, with a third loaded with rice for the wild men
and for their own food. Probably 'Che Ahmad did not
believe that they were only going to trade, but he said
nothing, and did not even express surprise when he heard
that 'Che Alang's wife and two daughters were going with
the expedition. It was, after all, a fairly common thing for
women to travel with their husbands on such journeys, and
'Che Alang certainly thought that his family would be
safer with him than left at home in charge of his slaves.

262

Si Uteh was now getting on towards marriageable age
and was safer under the personal care of her foster parents,
for one child had disappeared because she was more than
ordinarily pretty, and both Si Andak and Si Uteh bid fair
to be very attractive magnets.

Si Andak, of course, had now an efficient protector, but
as she was not a married woman there would be no crime
in enticing her away or even abducting her. She was mistress
of her own person, and not the property of a man. A
father's claim was small. He was supposed to be paid a
prescribed amount when his daughter was married; but the
fee was never paid. It was called a debt, and nothing more
was ever heard of it unless the man divorced his wife, when
it would cause a quarrel perhaps, and even then would not
be paid. At their first camping-place they met by appoint-
ment the Patani boatmen, and the following morning three
of them were sent off with the letter to the Queen of Patani.
For two more days they travelled into the forest and slept
in camps hastily prepared for them by their remaining
boatmen. Then, about the middle of the fourth day, they
came to a Semang camp, and found their Patani Semangs
amongst a tribe with which they were friendly. John Smith
found these people very pleased to see him, as soon as
they got to understand that he was a friend of the Queen
of Patani.

They were real savages, living on the smaller animals,
birds and reptiles, which they snared in the forest, with an
occasional feast of fish, and now and then a pig or deer
brought down by their very efficient bows and arrows; but
flesh food of any sort was not very common with them,
and they mostly subsisted on wild fruits, roots and leaves
found in the jungle.

They were brisk and active little people, not nearly so

263

small as the African dwarfs, but much shorter than the
Malays, brownish black in colour and with curly woolly
hair. Dress was almost absent amongst them, consisting
perhaps of a girdle of leaves or grass, and in some instances
of a chawat, or loin cloth, of beaten bark. They had no
houses, because they never seemed to stay more than two
or three days in one place, and they slept under overhanging
rocks, in caves, or when such places were not available,
they built slight shelters with boughs or palm leaves. But
they were proud and quite self-satisfied. A few of them
knew a little Malay, but except the four who came from
Patani, they could not converse with any fluency. They
claimed all the country as their own, but admitted that
they had allowed the Malays to have the use of it. They
were friendly with the Patani Malays, as well as with the
Siamese; but they expressed great detestation of the Perak
Malays, because they were connected with the Senoi or
Sakais, who were their hereditary enemies, and with whom
they were always at war, pitting their bows and arrows
against the others' blow-pipes and poisoned darts, which
weapons they disdained, declaring them to be cowardly
and unfair.

Under these circumstances, when the Semangs understood
that the Prince of Raman was negotiating with the King
of Perak to deliver his country over to that potentate and
repudiate his vassalage to the Queen of Patani, they were
very angry indeed, and declared that it should not be; for
it seemed that they claimed not only to have a voice in
the administration of the country, but also in the appoint-
ment of the Prince who ruled it. Here was, then, perhaps
the best way of all to counteract the irrfluence of the Perak
agents, who were trying to coax over the Malay chiefs and
people. After consulting 'Che Alang on this phase of the

264

question, John Smith determined to take the Semangs into
his confidence, and endeavour to use their influence to
further his object, so far as he was able.

'Che Alang himself was not so much interested in that
part of their expedition as he was in the recovery of his
daughter, and he thought he saw a means of attaining his
end in the bad feeling which the Prince's present action
would cause between himself and his Semang subjects.

The chief of the little clan of wild men with whom they
were staying was called up, together with the four Semangs
from Patani, and the bundle containing the changi putri
was solemnly unrolled in their presence. The four Patani
Semangs were called to witness that they had been ordered
by the great Queen to guide the white man to Raman and
thereafter do his bidding, defending him with their lives;
and they also witnessed that the changi putri had been
delivered into his hands by the Queen herself, in full council
of her ministers, and that she had there and then delegated
her authority in the province of Raman to him.

When the Semang chief understood that the reason of
this mission was to bring the Prince of Raman to his
proper sences, and make him return to his allegiance to
the Queen, he expressed his entire approval, and said he
was sure all the Semang tribes would agree with him. He
therefore proposed that they should move farther into the
forest and hills, to a more convenient and central place
and there call all the Semang Chiefs together and consult
on the matter. As it happened, it was nearing the time of
their annual fruit feast, and it would therefore be a good
opportunity to get the people together.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Accordingly, the next morning the elephants were early
picked up and loaded with their human freight, and then
the company, augmented by the little clan of Semangs and
their chief, moved off to find the head chief af all the
Semangs in that district. For three days they travelled,
picking up small parties on the road whose whereabouts
had been discovered by observing the position of their fires
at night time. As each party was found, John Smith was
formally introduced and his changi piitri displayed.

Little Si Uteh and Si Andak were intensely interested
and pleased with the journey. They would, if their foster-
mother had allowed them, have cast off their clothes and
have emulated the Semang girls in their savage games and
pursuits, but 'Che Alang considered that it was necessary
to sustain the dignity of the superior race by a somewhat
distant and careful demeanour. As for the white man, he
was by 'Che Alang accredited with almost superhuman
attributes, and the wild people were in consequence a little
afraid of him.

They ultimately found the camp of the head chief of the
Raman Semangs, and on understanding the object of John
Smith's mission, this important personage fell in entirely
with the view that the Prince of Raman was acting beyond
his powers in transferring his allegiance from Patani to Perak,
without first consulting the Semang chiefs.

266

The chief promised that, when all his people had assem-
bled for the annual fruit festival, and to do honour to their
gods, Kei and Pie, he would hold a council and see what
was best in the opinion of his people to be done under
the circumstances; but for his own part he promised John
Smith that, if the Prince persisted in his present policy, the
Semang tribes would certainly refuse to acknowledge him,
and as they were the real owners of the soil, he would
quickly find himself a Prince without any land, and not
that only, but as the Semangs greatly outnumbered his
Malay subjects and paid him a large tribute in produce of
the forest, he would also find that he had a greatly reduced
revenue and very few subjects left.

*Che Alang, however, told him that he must not depend
too much on the Semangs, as their power was very limited.
He remembered once the Sakais in Perak had tried to
assert themselves, but had been very easily quelled; and he
explained that these wild tribes were only tolerated because
they were useful to make slaves of, and to do the rough
work for the Malays in the forest; their assertion that they
were the proper owners of the soil might be true, but the
fact was not taken much notice of, and certainly it never
deterred a Malay Raja from doing what he pleased.

That might all be true and probably was, but John Smith
thought the experiment worth trying, and at any rate it
would be interesting. The Semangs seemed a strong and
well-armed people, and if they had pluck enough, their fine
bows and arrows would make no mean mark in a pitched
battle. Then there was the fact which he had learned in
Patani, and found confirmed here, that they certainly had
a voice in the election of the subsidiary princes, even if
not in that of the Ruler of Patani. The latter was not
perhaps quite so closely allied to the wild people as the

26/

former, but from the great Queen herself down to the meanest
peasant there was a strain of Semang blood leavening the
Malay-Siamese stock, and that could not be quite ignored.
He therefore made up his mind to follow up this oppor-
tunity, at any rate to some further development, and
decided to settle at some future period how far he would
encourage the wild men to rebel ; it would depend greatly
on what chance there seemed of success.

The place chosen for the fruit festival was a moderately
high hill, standing in the centre of an elevated table-land,
which in its turn was surrounded by higher hills. John
Smith understood that this particular site was always used
if the head Chief of the district wished to call his clans
together, because its central position allowed the signal
fires to be seen from every direction, and moreover it was
an ancient rallying place of the people.

The first night after their arrival a large fire was lit on
the hilltop, and was kept blazing for about an hour. It was
then put out, and no light was shown for an interval of an
hour. Then it was re-lit for another hour, after which it was
put out permanently. This was done for three consecutive
nights, which was the signal that the clans were to assemble.

The signal was well obeyed, for very soon the people
began to gather. Everybody, man or woman, arrived laden
with fruit or vegetables, which they carried in baskets on their
backs supported by strips of bark across their foreheads.
Only the able-bodied men and women came as a rule,
especially from a distance, as the children and old people
were left behind, with perhaps one or two strong men or
women of each clan to look after them, but even these in
some cases followed on and arrived at the trysting-place a
day or two after their stronger clansmen.

The festival was to be held on the site of an old hill

268

clearing, which as on every similar occasion, was carefully

prepared by cutting down all the young growth and grass.

This clearing was about ten acres in extent. The people

laughingly alluded to it as the place where they sunned

themselves once a year, and this was about true, for they

were shade-loving folk, and very rarely came out into the

open country; and even now, as they gathered to the

meeting, they established themselves under the trees round

the clearing. The first comers got places nearest their chief,

and the later ones gradually filled up the circle, until the

clearing was at last ringed round with little camps. The

people slept and sheltered under the merest screen of boughs

and palmleaves, and kept fires alight all night. They

seemed to be always cooking and eating during the night,

and all day they were away in the forest collecting food.

By the Chiefs orders, a house was built for John Smith's

party. It was a queer, ramshackle-looking place, but the

best the wild men could manage, and it was greatly appreciated;

for whatever the wild men thought about it, certainly the

more civilized Malays did like a little privacy, and were

not accustomed to carry on all their domestic life quite so

openly and devoid of shame as these others, who in that

respect were not much more modest than goats or buffaloes.

The changi putri was displayed at the door of John

Smith's house, and was in charge of old 'Che Alang, who

constituted himself Chief Herald for the occasion, and each

petty chief as he arrived was brought by the head chief to

do homage to the insignia of royalty and to see the strange

white man who was the great Queen's agent.

So far as could be estimated, there were certainly a
thousand people present, of whom the greater half were
able-bodied men armed with bows, a few of them also
having wood knives of good steel obtained from the Malays ;

269

but the majority carried small spears with blades of sharp-
pointed bamboo hardeneded in the fire. If there was any
courage amongst them, this was not an insignificant fighting
force, and was one that might be expected to move about
very easily, with the hard-working women to follow behind
and keep it supplied with food collected fom the forest.

The time had now come for the culminating dance and
great fruit feast to take place to each clan built a large
fire out in the open before its camping ground, and every
man, woman and child spent the whole day away in the
forest collecting fruit, which was deposited in heaps between
the fires and the camps. There was also a great dressing
up of the young men and women for the night's performance.
The head chiefs's fire was first lighted about ten o'clock at
night, after which all te other fires were started, and then
the great dance began. Each clan was provided with a
clumsy drum, made out of the hollowed section of a tree
about two feet long, and one in diameter. Across one end
of this was stretched the skin of a wild goat or monkey.
These drums and some wooden clappers supplied all their music.
^P The young people belonging to the head chiefs clan
commenced the game. They had dressed themselves fantas-
tically in crowns and kilts of leaves and grasses, both sexes
about the same, and as they had discarded their chawats,
or loin cloths of beaten bark, they appeared more undressed
than usual. They came out of the camp and drew up in
groups before the elders of the clan and the visitors. Then

iirst the young men danced energetically for a short time,
o the monotonous beating of the drum and a sort of chant
ung by the young women ; and after this the young women
ook their place and did their share to the same accom-
)animent. Their dance consisted chiefly in swaying their
bodies and arms in time to the music, not altogether ungrace-

I

270

fully, but their posturing was perhaps not quite so modest
as it might have been. John Smith learnt that the dance
was chiefly responsible for the marriages in the tribe, and
was perhaps instituted for tnat purpose. His little friend Si
Uteh had begged to be allowed to join the head chief's
troupe of girls, and had indeed dressed, or rather undressed,
herself for the purpose, but when she showed herself to her
foster parents, her sister and her friend the white man, she
was quickly smacked and ordered to resume her proper
clothes, for she certainly made much too pretty a savage
to be trusted amongst the others.

It was the rule for dancing parties from the different
clans to visit one anothers camps, indulge in a short dance
for their hosts' amusement, eat some fruit and then go on
to another camp; and this lasted nearly all night. Marriages
within the clan were not allowed, and young men had to
select their brides from clans other than their own: the
penalty for breaking this law was death.

John Smith and the two Malay girls visited all the camps
under the guidance of the head chief. It was very interesting
to watch the love-making of the young people. As seemed
to be the custom in this part of the world, the girls always
made the first advances, and the advances made were
certainly quite unmistakable; there was no false modesty
displayed by either sex: the intention was the finding of
suitable mates, and when the affinity was thought to have
been discovered, it was the maiden, not the man, who was
the wooer, and her wooing was done quite openly, and was
openly reciprocated.

It was well on towards dawn before the fires dwindled
out and the camps became quiet, but the savages were all
alert again before the sun was above the horizon. For two
more nights the tribe feasted and danced, and spent what

2/1

part of the day could be spared from the search for food
in sunning themselves in the clearing.

During all this time the head chief was very busy, con-
sulting the different clans as to the proper measures to be
taken to bring the Prince of Raman to reason and to a
proper sence of his obligation to take counsel with the
Semang chiefs before he gave away his country. There was
no doubt about the opinion of the clans on this point.
Perhaps the very fact of finding themselves all together
and in such large numbers, gave these wild men an undue
idea of their own importance, but certainly when the head
chief told his visitors that his people had determined to
make the Prince give up his plan of becoming a vassal of
Perak, and return to his allegiance to Patani, even 'Che
Alang, little trust as he put in the power of the savages,
thought that perhaps they might exercise some slight influence,
especially if there was a chance of the Queen of Patani
backing them up. But he believed that it would be very
difficult to persuade them to actually fight real Malays. If
the King of Perak ordered his Sakai subjects to fight,
probably the Semangs would give a good account of those
foes, but they would be afraid of the Malays,

They awoke one morning to find the place deserted,
except for the head chief's clan, for before daylight had
quite taken the place of darkness they had gone away, and
he busy camps were only indicated by the vacant hearths
and the squalid-looking shelters which had been erected. It
was very depressing to walk round the clearing and see
none of the picturesque groups of savages squatting round
their fires and finding employment in a hundred trivial
occupations, which, though they seemed of hardly any
account, yet made up the whole sum of existence to these
denizens of the forest. The young men would be laboriously

2/2

fashioning combs of bamboo, or stringing rows of bright-
hued seeds to please their brown brides, who in their turn
were plaiting strips of rattan or a black thread-like creeper,
to make belts for the husbands they had won. The old
men would be mending bows, or with excessive expenditure
of energy, and with infinite pains, forging iron arrow heads
with stones for anvil and hammer, while the old women
were beating out cloth from the fibrous inner bark of the
upas and the bread-fruit trees.

Their primeval forest, the mother who bore them and
nourished them in her leafy shades and gloom, had again
taken them to herself; her children had gone back to her
protection, to continue their restless nomadic existence, in
a never-ending struggle for the preservation of what, at
first sight seemed a life so poor that it was hardly worth
maintaining, and for the continuance of a race which, if it
were wiped out of the scheme of the Universe, would
hardly be missed, so unimportant seemed it to be.

They had gone to work their way gradually through many
miles of forest, where only they could find a path. They
had agreed to travel by many different routes, so that they
should not interfere with one another in the important
search for food, and then to meet again at a place within
one day's journey of the Prince's kampong, where each clan,
with a supply of rattans, resin or wood oil, should wait
in its camp, as if prepared to pay a tribute to the Prince.
That was the agreed upon programme, which the Prince
would undoubtedly have no cause to suspect meant anything
more than the usual payment of tribute after the fruit
festival of his wild subjects, for he had often before been
gratified by such a contribution, which constituted a large
item in his revenue.

And now the head chief proposed to his guests that they

273

should move on to the rendezvous by slow stages; so the
elephants were caught, and a start was made. As the rice
was all eaten, the rest of the journey would have to be
performed on the same food as the Semangs were used to,
and the Semang chief was gratified by being given the
provision elephant for the use of himself, his wife and his
family. 'He was a proud man, travelling thus in state, for
it had been a rule never to let the wild men ride on
elephants for fear it should make them think they were as
good as the Malays.

Slowly and carefully the great beasts plodded on through
the forest day by day with the head chief's clan of about
fifty men and women, some of whom kept behind, and
some in front of the elephants, searching for food for the
night's camp. Every day John Smith was regaled with some
new dish, sometimes it was a monkey, dropped from the
top of a high tree by an expert bowman, or the white
meat of the tail of a great lizard, while now and then a
wild pig would be brought in. All these things were haran
(forbidden) to 'Che Alang and his family, and even the
omniverous white man could not quite manage to share a
great feast the wild men once made off a twenty-foot-long
python.

Then sometimes the good Mohamadans had their innings,
mouse deer were caught in snares, and often they had
peacocks and other beautiful game birds that it seemed a
shame to eat ; and then at times fresh-water snails or mussels
would be brought in, and these 'Che Alang's old wife and
the two girls would industriously extract from their shells
and stew with spices and sour fruits, making a delicious
dish. All these things were halal (allowed) to the follower
of the Prophet.

Sometimes 'Che Alang and John Smith would have long

2/4

arid interesting arguments as to those animals which "split
the hoof but do not chew the cud", 'forbidden by the
Mosaic law or concerning certain birds like woodpeckers,
which are makro (inexpedient) according to Mohamadan
law; but generally in these cases, if hunger was sufficiently
pressing, and nothing but wild roots and leaves were found
to satisfy it, the law of the Prophet was set aside ; indeed,
in John Smith's experience, more than once in such cases
the forbidden pig itself had been re-christened "the short-
legged goat", in an attempt to quiet the sensitive conscience
of a hungry Mohamadan.

Nine days they thus travelled through the forest, not
making long journeys, for they did not wish to arrive
before the rest of the tribe, who would possiby be delayed
because of collecting the produce of the forest for the
pretended tribute to the Prince.

On the tenth day, instead of continuing their journey,
the Semang chief desired his friends to stay in camp and
allow him to go forward without them. He expected, he
said, to meet his people one day's journey ahead, and when
he had done this he would arrange for the best way to
deal with the Prince of Raman, whose karnpong was only
about thirty miles away. It was certainly better under these
circumstances that John Smith's presence should not be
known, or perhaps the Perak Commissioner, who was known
to be staying with the Prince, might arrange to do some
mischief.

The chief and half his followers therefore went forward
for another march, leaving the other half of the people in
camp. The chief promised to inveigle the Prince into the
forest with as few followers as possible; and 'Che Alang
made him understand that the women of his harem were
also, if possible, to be decoyed out; for he felt certain that

275

his daughter, 'Che Long, would be found amongst them.
This also the chief promised to do his best to bring about.

After the Semang chief had started, the rest of the party-
proceeded to arrange their camp, as it was probable that
they would have to stay some days before the arrangements
for receiving the Prince could be made. It was not decided
when the chief left exactly what was to be done, because
it was not certain how many followers the Prince would
bring into the forest with him, or even if he would be
persuaded to leave his kampong at all, while if he did come,
the Perak officer might insist on coming with him. Everything,
therefore, had to be left to chance, and the only arrangement
which could be made was to choose several of the most
intelligent Malay-speaking Semangs to carry messages between
the two camps, so that John Smith and his party might
know exactly what to do and be prepared to act on an
emergency.

After six days' waiting, a messenger came from the Semang
chief at the Prince's kampong, to say that the Prince of
Raman with some of his women and the Perak commissioner
intended to pay a visit to the Semang camp the next day,
and that the chief meant to inveigle him out to the smaller
camp where the Patani mission was. The messenger also
said that his chief was very angry with the Perak man
because he had laughed at him, and that he was going to
send another messenger on the morrow.

Accordingly the next morning a second messenger arrived,
and reported that the Prince with his four wives, some
other women and six followers, and the Perak officer with
two followers, had arrived at the main camp with four
elephants; that they intended spending some days there
taking account of the tribute brought in by the Semangs
and that the Prince had ordered the Semang chief to make

2/6

his people arrange for a dance in three nights' time, in
order to amuse the Perak officer. The messenger also said
that his chief was very angry about this. On being questioned,
he could not tell whether 'Che Alang's daughter was with
the Prince's party or not.

John Smith now conceived the idea of capturing both
the Prince and the Perak officer and taking them prisoners
over to Patani for the Queen to deal with. It would probably
lead to a war between Perak and Patani, but this he thought,
would be sure to occur sooner or later, and he knew that
two important Raman kampongs, as well as all the Semangs,
were in favour of Patani, so he had very little fear for
the result.

'Che Alang was willing to assist in anything, if only he
could get back his daughter, and he wanted before anything
else to ascertain if she was with the Prince's party. The
messenger was therefore sent back at once to the Semang
chief, to make arrangments to meet John Smith and 'Che
Alang secretly in the forest, not very far from the large
camp, so that they could have a conference and try to
arrange some way of carrying out this project. About four
hours after this messenger had returned, they started them-
selves with half-a-dozen Semangs, taking with them one of
the former messengers to show them the most convenient
place to wait for the Semang chief. After travelling all
night through the forest by torch-light, they arrived within
what was understood to be about a mile of the big camp,
and there halted, whilst a man went forward to call the
chief. The latter came out to see them at once. He was
quite willing to fall in with their views, except that he
wanted to kill the Perak man because he had treated him
so contemptuously; but he wanted to make him understand
first that even if in Perak the Malays had so far mastered

277

the Sakais as to take no notice of their claims to conside-
ration, the Semangs of Patani were more powerful, and
would hold their own as heirs of the soil, even to fighting
for their rights.

They agreed that the Prince and the Perak agent, with
their women and followers, should be enticed out to the
smaller camp to see a dance and inspect some more tribute,
which, the Chief would persuade them, could not be brought
down to the large camp. 'Che Alang, however, was most
anxious to make certain if his daughter was with the Prince's
other women, and so, after they had made all their preparations
for the capture of the Prince and the Commissioner, with
their people, he went back with the chief to his camp, and
by hiding in the forest near the place where the Prince's
people went down to the river to bathe, he at last caught
sight of her as she came along with the other women, and
his suspicions as to her whereabouts being now confirmed,
he was content to return to his own party and patiently
await the development of the plan they had agreed upon.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

As soon as they got back to their camp, they made
preparations for the reception and capture of their proposed
visitors. The elephants were sent back a day's march, and
the whole camp was moved forward a little off the old site,
so that on the arrival of the Prince's elephants there should
be no suspicious signs to show that anybody but Semangs
had used the place. Two huts were hastily built, one, a
fairly large one, for the Prince, and a smaller one for the
Perak Commissioner. John Smith and 'Che Alang arranged
to stay with their family in the old camp, and only come
forward, either to help effect the capture, or after it had
been made, as might appear best. Things were arranged only
just in time for th^ir reception. A cordon of Semangs was
posted round the open space before the huts which had
been built, for feer any of the visitors should escape, for it
was evidently imperative that the Prince's capture should
not be made known any sooner than was absolutely necessary,
because, as soon as his own immediate followers knew it,
they might be expected to move Heaven and earth to find
him again; and of course the taking prisoner of the Perak
Commissioner was a deliberate act of war.

For this reason precautions had been taken to account
for the Prince's absence from his own kampong for at least
a fortnight: this would give them a good start before even
search was thought of, and they hoped to get their captives
past all the inhabited country, and well on their journey
towards Patani, before people were awake to the fact that

2/9

their ruler had been abducted. 'Che Alang was for letting
the Semangs actually make the capture, and it seemed
better that it should be so, because they would thus have
committed themselves to an act hostile to Perak, and could
not thereafter draw back from the responsibility.

'Che Alang's wife could not resist the temptation of hiding
at the edge of the small cleared space in front of the hut
built for the Prince, in order to watch the arrival of her
daughter and wen the time came, she was perhaps a little
gratified to see that 'Che Long was seated on the same
elephant as the Prince, and was thus given precedence over
his other four legitimate wives, who were all packed together
on a second elephant. But that was, as the old lady well
knew, always the way, for even legitimate wives had to
give place to the last new favourite. She would have been
very much happier if her daughter had attained 'to the
more orthodox position of a legitimate wife.

The anxious old mother had seen the Prince's elephant
drawn up to the hut prepared for his reception, and her
experienced eyes had detected the fact that her daughter's
appearance was that of a woman, who, if she were a legitimate
wife, would have no reason to dread the gaze of the world ;
but she was only a concubine, and her condition was therefore
not quite so satisfactory.

The Prince and his followers disappeared into the hut,
and his followers proceeded to make it more comfortable
and fit for a few days' occupation. The Perak chief also
ahghted, and was apparently about to arrange his own hut,
by putting into it his own sleeping mats and pillows,
together with the very few other articles which make
up the small amount of impedimenta with which a Malay
always travels. Amongst these was the spear with a fringe
of white horse hair fixed just under the socket of the blade,

28o

which was his token of authority from the King of Perak.
Unluckily for the chief, as he was attending to his arrang-
ments, a troupe of young girls, fancifully dressed up in the
lightest of grass and leaf kilts, as if prepared for the dance,
passed close beside his hut, and the poor man — perhaps
envious at seeing the Prince with so well-filled a harem,
whilst he was wifeless — seized the arm of the nearest girl
and tried to pull her into his hut. It was an almost unprece-
dented thing for a Malay to do, and swiftly did punishment
follow on his wrong doing. The girl called out something,
and immediately an alert Semang, armed with a strong spear
having a hardened bamboo blade, jumped out of the forest
and remonstrated with the Malay, but unavailingly, ior the
latter passed his arm round the girl's waist and drew her
towards him. This was, perhaps more than the Semang
could endure, for he suddenly shouted out something in his
own tongue and stabbed the Perak man in the abdomen
with his bamboo-headed spear; then, as if at a prearranged
signal, the little cleared space and the huts prepared for
the visitors were surrounded by armed Semangs, who promptly
laid hands on every soul of the Prince's party, and disarmed
and bound them with rattan cords, which were by some
mysterious means forthcoming just at the right moment.

The poor Perak man was killed almost immediately, for
as soon as his assailant stabbed him, two or three other
young men rushed at him also and thrust their bamboo
spears intq his body as he fell.

The head chief of the Semangs, with a party of his most
important chiefs of clans, called to the Prince to come out
from his hut with all his women and followers, and on his
doing so, his followers were promptly bound, elephant drivers
and all. It was lucky for all parties that before the fracas
occurred the elephants had been hobbled, or perhaps they

28 I

might have got away, when they could only have been
caught again by their own drivers, who would have been
sure to have thus escaped and probably gone back to the
Prince's own kampong, and informed the people of what
had taken place.

The ladies were grouped together with a guard placed
over them. But not until everything had been made secure
did the wily old Semang chief send a messenger to call
John Smith and his friends, and explain to him what had
been done, and why the Perak chief had been killed.

The Queen of Patani's agent, having ascertained from the
messenger exactly how matters stood, thought it better now
to disclose the object of his mission. He therefore carefully
dressed himself in his European dress, buckled on his trusty
Spanish rapier, and taking his changi putri in his hand,
went back to the camp with the messenger, and approached
the captive Prince of Raman.

He found that chief tremendously surprised at the course
of events and also very indignant, but when a man with a
white skin, a beard and a moustache, and dressed in out-
landish clothes appeared, his surprise was changed to real
anger; and on that apparition addressing him in his own
language, and informing him that he was a prisoner and
must prepare forthwith to start on a journey to Patani, to
answer certain charges of rebelling against his Suzerain, the
great Queen, his indignation gave place to temporary madness,
and drawing his kris he suddenly plunged it into the naked
body of a Semang who stood close beside him; then, shouting
out the name of Allah, he sprang forward in the direction
of his group of wives, and would, without doubt, have soon
justified himself as a true Malay by providing a sacrifice as
a fit preparation for his own death. He did indeed do some-
thing towards attaining this end, for as he rushed, the

282

Semangs who were guarding the women gave way, frightened
at his appearance.

Truly a terrible sight he was, as he frantically dashed at
the horrified group of women, shouting, "I am the King of
the jungle! I am the Great Bull Elephant, and the wild
Sheitan of the forest!"

In one hand he flourished a wavy kris, and in the other
a little sickleshaped dagger, designed for ripping up the
abdomen of an adversary. Already he had reached one of
the women, who, hoping to escape, had left the group and
was starting away towards John Smith; but it was not to
be her fortune to avoid her fate, for in two or three springs,
her husband, gnashing his teeth and shouting inarticulate
curses as he advanced, stabbed her in the back with his
kris, and as she fell backwards into his arms, plunged his
little crooked dagger into her abdomen and literally disem-
bowelled her, leaving his weapon fast fixed in her breast
bone, where it had becomed jammed as he sharply drew
his hand upwards in the act of inflicting this horrible second
and unnecessary wound.

He cast her aside, and drawing out his kris, stood glaring
around for the next victim, a horrible and maniacal figure,
covered from head to foot with the freshly-shed blood. It
was almost as much as John Smith's nerves, weakened by
his rough life and the tropical influences, could stand; but
feeUng unlimited trust in his own powers, and perhaps being
encouraged by the feel of his clothes, which he had not for
some time worn, he drew his sword and steadily advanced
on the maddened chief, calling on him at the same time to
throw down his weapon and surrender himself a prisoner,
when his life would be spared. At first the Prince seemed
a little cowed, but then perhaps suddenly remembering that
this new opponent was an Unbeliever, whom at least it was

283

meritorious to kill, he crouched, and warily watched for an
opportunity to make a successful attack. It was a real duel,
but the odds were certainly in favour of the more civilised
fighter, for his long sword gave him an immense advantage,
and he could easily have finished the fight within a very
short time if he had wished ; but it was not his intention
to kill the Prince unless it was inevitable; he would much
prefer taking him a prisoner to Patani for the Queen to
deal with. He therefore followed each movement and feint
-of his adversary with the greatest care, hoping to disarm
him and so take him prisoner.

For some few minutes they circled round one another,
each intent on finding an opening, until at last John Smith
was able to accomplish what he wanted, and the Prince
stood disarmed before him with the blood trickling from a
wound in the back of his hand. But it was not after all
so much the death of his adversary that the Prince desired,
as it was to get rid of his own existence. The Malay, when
he runs a-muck, seeks to give his neighbours an opportunity
and a fair reason for taking his life because it is, in his
opinion, a disgraceful thing to commit suicide, even if his
troubles make it impossible for him to live.

That this was the Prince's desire was soon very evident,
for no sooner had his opponent pricked the back of his
hand, thus causing him to drop his kris^ than, finding that
he could not recover it, he promptly endeavoured to impale
himself on the sword which menaced him, and was only
prevented from thus ending his life by the promptitude
with which his opponent dropped the hilt, and clasped him
in his arms. The Semang chief, who had been watching the
duel, now ordered some of his young men to assist, and
the Prince was soon sitting on the ground, bound like his
followers. The whole of the Prince's party was now secured.

284

and the four elephants were also prevented from getting
away by the double rattan rings which confined their fore
feet, so that they could only move about by lifting both
feet, so that they could only move about by lifting both
feet at a time, and thus could not escape.

It was time now to call a council and decide what to
do next; so John Smith, with 'Che Alang and the Semang
chief, sat down to discuss the matter.

After much deliberation it was determined to start at
once up-country with the captives, and go right through to
Patani as fast as possible, for it was quite certain that
before many days were past the Prince and his party would
be missed, and search would be made for them. It might
be some time before what actually took place became known,
but when the elephant tracks were traced going straight
up-country, suspicion would be aroused and enquiries made,
and the facts would leak out.

It was, perhaps, unfortunate that the Perak officer had
been killed, as it would certainly cause the King of Perak
to carry war into Raman, even if he did not consider it
sufficient reason to send an expedition right into Patani ;
but then it had proved the loyalty of the wild tribes, who
were, it was now quite evident, no inconsiderable factor in
the State.

It grieved them all that the Prince of Raman took his
captivity so much to heart. He was, apparently, a man of
considerable intelligence and much influence in the district.
His slightly curled hair showed the Semang blood in his
veins, and even now as he sat in his bonds, his face distorted
with passion, it could be seen that he was a man of some
presence and with claims to be called good-looking, according
to Malay taste. He was apparently about middle age and
in the full vigour of Hfe.

2^5

His three remaining wives were all youngish women, but
none of them could be compared with 'Che Long as regards
beauty or youth, and like the Prince himself, they all shewed
traces of the Semang blood. 'Che Long, on the other hand,
was of lighter build and prettier colour, and the brown of her
skin seemed as if it was mixed with a little warm yellow,
whereas the other ladies, like the Semangs who had captured
them, had their brown dulled and deepened with a considerable
tinge of black; also, 'Che Long's hair was long and wavy,
and did not tend to twist up into tight curls as did that of
the others.

The Semang blood was distinctly visible in these Raman
natives, as it was right down the Patani River, and the
difference between these people and the people who came
from Perak, 'Che Alang's family, 'Che Ahmad and his chief
the Perak Commissioner who had been killed, was so very
marked that it set John Smith wondering whether this
district, which the Raman people had occupied, should not
after all properly go to Patani, as it was inhabited by the
same race, in spite of the fact that the country drained
into the Perak River basin.

In reviewing the occurrences of the last few days, he was
especially struck with the acumen displayed by the Semang
chief in laying his ambush and capturing the Prince of
Raman; but what was more astonishing still was the way
in which he had betrayed the Perak commissioner to his
death. It was quite evident to old 'Che Alang also that,
either because of some insult to him and his people, or
because he looked upon Perak State officers in Raman as
national enemies, the Semang chief had made up his mind
to kill the man, and the way in which it had been done had
been carefully planned : the man's character had been studied,
and his predilection for women noted. Therefore the appearance

286

of the troupe of young girls just as he was going into his
hut was not mere chance, any more than it was by accident
that the bravest and most reckless of the young men were
posted at the same place, and so were handy to avenge
the insult offered to the girl. But nobody could blame the
Semang chief under the circumstances for the Perak man's
death, for he had obviously brought it on himself. When
John Smith regretted it in speaking to 'Che Alang and
the Semang chief, the latter carefully explained that he
also was sorry, but that, as could be seen, he had no
control over it, nor was the deed in any way done by
his orders; it was the hasty act of a man who saw his
wife insulted. But they saw an amused expression pass
over the wild man's face as he gave the explanation, and
they did not alter their opinion about the astuteness of
the race.

'Che Long was happy in being resorted to her family,
but she evidently also had some affection for the Prince.
This was, after all, natural, for by whatever means she first
fell into his hands, the fact remained that he was the father
of her unborn child, and this gave him a claim to all the
love a Malay woman has to bestow on a man. Devoted
mothers and loving, as these women often proved themselves
to be, it was most evident that the feeling subsisting between
man and woman was always merely sensual and had to do
entirely with sex; there was no real passion of love, as it
is understood amongst more highly civilised peoples. Besides
this, poor 'Che Long had for some time being trying to
persuade the Prince to divorce one of his wives and marry
her, instead of keeping her in the inferior position of a
mere concubine, and now that one of his wives was dead,
there seemed every chance of her wishes being fulfilled, if
only she played her cards aright ; and in furtherance of her

28;

plan she begged to be allowed to attend to his hurt and
comfort him generally.

John Smith saw no objection to this, if 'Che Alang thought
she could be trusted not to assist him to escape, and as
her loyalty to her own people was declared to be beyond
doubt, he gave her some of the African salve to apply to
the Prince's wound, and himself went with her and her
mother to attend to him.

They found him very sullen, but he ultimately became a
little less so, after his late adversary had explained his
position to him and had apologised for wounding him. He
said that he had no very great leaning to Perak more than
he had to Patani, and had merely transferred his allegiance
because he thought the Queen had neglected him, and that
he should get more out of the King of Perak, who, he said,
had sent him some very rich presents and had promised
him more if he would swear allegiance to him. Finally, he
asked that his hands might be unbound; but 'Che Alang
advised that this should not be done, as he would probably
do some further mischief if he were allowed to go free : at
any rate it was not advisable to untie him at present, but
in a day or two's time they might, perhaps, hit upon a
plan to so guard him unbound as to make it safe.

And here the native cunning and the inherent politeness
of the race was again exempHfied. 'Che Alang brought
forward the Semang chief, and together they did homage
to the bound Prince and assured him that it was their wish
to liberate him at once, but that the chiefs of the different
clans restrained them, declaring that they must first take
guarantees from the Prince that he would not give their
country to the King of Perak, whom they declared to be
descended from their mortal enemies, the Sakais.

Then, after the other elephants had been found, they

288

started on their long journey, the Semang chief leading the
way, as he had promised to take them to the upper kampong
where 'Che Alang lived in five days, which was half the
time it had taken them to come down. The Prince's followers,
as well as the two Perak men, were given in charge of a
clan of Semangs, who were ordered to take them far into
the forest, whence they could not hope to find their way
home without the help of their captors. They were to be
guarded until further orders from the Semang chief. The
second elephant was loaded with the Prince's three remaining
wives, none of whom seemed very anxious to attend to
their husband. Perhaps they were frightened because of the
very unceremonious way in which he had got rid of one of
their number, or perhaps, since 'Che Long had been an
inmate of his harem, they had had but little attention from
him, and were accordingly disposed, to sulk.

The third elephant carried 'Che Alang, his wife and the
child, Si Uteh; the fourth, the Prince, who was carefully
secured in his seat by rattan cords, but was made as comfortable
as circumstances permitted, with 'Che Long, who was most
assiduous in attending to his wants. John Smith and Si
Andak shared the fifth elephant, and the other two were
loaded with provisions.

They were careful to put the Prince on one of their own
elephants and use his themselves, for fear any of them
should make a dash to escape; but even if this had been
attempted it is doubtful if they could have got away, because
the party was escorted through the forest by the larger
half of the Semang tribe, who were to travel with them
until they found found the prahus which John Smith had
hidden on his journey across from Patani, and which would
take some of them down the Patani River.

They determined to stop at the kampong where 'Che

289

Alang lived, and, if possible, secure the Perak agent, 'Che
Ahmad, who was living there, and take him with them a
prisoner to Patani. Sometimes John Smith changed places
with 'Che Long and tried to make friends with the Prince,
in hopes of persuading him before he left his own province
to declare himself still a vassal of Patani. He told him that
the two kampongs were, in spite of 'Che Ahmad's endeavours,
still against the Perak alliance, and that if he would now
declare himself true to Patani, without doubt the Queen
would forgive him and take him back to her favour. The
Prince promised that he would do this, and of his own
accord promised to marry 'Che Long at the kampong when
they stopped there. This was very gratifying news to 'Che
Alang and his wife, but it was still a question whether
they could trust him at liberty and with arms in his hands.
The old Semang chief, who knew him best, would not take
the responsibility of deciding, as he thought it probable
that he would again try to wipe out the shame which had
been forced on him by throwing his life away, as he had
tried to do before.

They decided to take the risk, and as it was better when
they had so decided that he should be at once released,
'Che Alang first asked him if he would take an oath that
he would return to return to his allegiance to Patani, that
he would not make any attempt on his own life, and lastly,
that he would marry 'Che Long. All these things he promised
faithfully, so he was at once released, and his weapons were
restored to him. But the wily Semang chief did not trust
him, and was careful to keep the best of his young men in
close attendance on him. Moreover, he was not quite pleased
with the proposed marriage, for he recognised that 'Che
Long and her people were not of the true Semang descent;
but he consoled himself with the recollection that the Prince

»9

290

had already several heirs by his former wives, and it was
not very probable that 'Che Long's child or its descendants
would ever be Princes of Raman.

Two days after this they arrived at the kampong where
'Che Alang had so hospitably entertained John Smith, and
it was with very considerable satisfaction that the good old
trader welcomed his guests to his house.

CHAPTER XXIX.

The Prince was ceremoniously received and installed in
the end of the verandah, where John Smith had once been
the honoured guest of the house. The Penghulu was called
and did homage. The Prince informed him that he had
come to the kampong on purpose to celebrate his marriage
with 'Che Long, the daughter of 'Che Alang, and ordered
him to have a water buffalo killed at once for a feast in
the evening, and to command the attendance of the Khatib
and several hajis to be witnesses of the marriage.

The Prince then enquired where 'Che Ahmad of Perak
was, and on his coming forward, the Prince told him that
he was very sorry indeed, but he had to let him know
that his chief, the agent sent to him by the King of Perak,
had met with an unfortunate accident in the forest and lost
his life; he had been attacked by some strange wild animals ;
and at the same time one of his own wives had also been
killed, and he himself had been wounded in the hand. This
was a most diplomatic and far-seeing statement for the
Prince to make, and was well calculated to stop further
enquiry. The natural inference to be drawn from what was
evidently a fable, would be that the Perak chief had been
too familiar with one of the ladies and they had both been
killed in the forest, probably by the Prince himself, as his
hand was wounded.

Che Ahmad was well aware that his chief was greatly
given to laxity of behaviour with regard to women, and
when the Prince turned to 'Che Alang and John Smith

292

with a sardonic smile and asked them to corroborate his story,
they were so impressed with its cleverness that they both
immediately vouched for its truth. And after all, the facts
might be so twisted as to make it true; the Prince was a
despotic monarch, and the Semang woman whom the Perak
man had insulted was, if not his wife, at any rate so much
his slave that he could have added her to his harem without
any one daring to prevent him. Also, he was certainly in
a maddened state when he attempted to run a-muck, analagous
to a wild animal, and the wild Semangs were commonly
considered by Malays only equal to the beasts of the forest.
Moreover, this sort of sophistry was commonly practised
amongst Malays to hide the shame of domestic crime. Of
course the whole story would ultimately come out, but only
after some time, and then it would be so garbled and mixed
up with the fable that people would not know what to
believe, and so it would sink into oblivion.

That matter being settled, the Prince went on to tell the
assembly that, as it was evidently by the command of God
Almighty, (Firman AUa-ta' Allah) that the Perak Commis-
sioner had lost his life, he felt sure that the project of trans-
ferring his allegiance to Perak would be contrary to Divine
command, and he had therefore finally decided to return to
his proper Overlord, the Queen of Patani, and was in fact
now on his way to do homage to her and ask pardon for
not having attended her Dewan, with the other Princes her
vassals. Then turning to 'Che Ahmad, he said it would be
very well, he thought, under the circumstances, if he went
with him. John Smith caught the Prince's meaning, so quietly
going through the house he found the Semang chief, who
was being entertained at the back, and told him to have
some young men ready to take 'Che Ahmad prisoner, the
moment he went down out of the house, and by no means

293

to let him have any communication with anybody, for fear
he should send a message off to Perak.

When he returned to the verandah he brought with him
both his own insignia of office, the changi putri, and also
the ornamental spear which had been the token of authority
brought from Perak; and first asking the Prince's permission
to speak, he told the assembly that he had been deputed
by the Queen to visit this her province of Raman, and to
ascertain whether the Prince and the people did actually
wish to repudiate her overlordship. He said that he was
convinced they did not, but had been perhaps persuaded
by the King of Perak's agents. He would now go back at
once to Patani with the Prince, and tell the Queen that
her province had returned to its allegiance. He intended
taking with him to Patani the Perak Commissioner's spear
as a sign that the people of Raman wished to have nothing
to do with Perak, and he was very glad to find that 'Che
Ahmad was going with the Prince. If anybody could persuade
the other Perak agents who were in the province to go to
Patani as well, he was sure the Queen would be very pleased
indeed, and he knew also that the Semangs would arrange
to help them on their journey.

'Che Ahmad looked very blank whilst all this was going
on and soon after asked permission to retire, in order that
>he might make his preparations for the morrow's journey.
The Prince accorded him leave, and 'Che Ahmad went
down the steps, but at the bottom he was met by the
Semang chief with ten well-armed young men, who politely
persuaded him to go to John Smiths little house by the
river, which, they assured him, had been prepared for him,
and to which all his property had been removed from the
Penghulu's house.

It was a heavy blow for 'Che Ahmad, who saw very plainly

294

that the chance of Perak was gone, and that Raman would
have to be conquered by force of arms, if his master was
desirous of obtaining the sovereign rights over it.

By the time all this had been done, it was getting on
towards evening, and an appetizing smell was wafted into
the house from about a dozen large, open iron pots, which
had been set on furnaces hastily made of sods, and which
were now briskly bubbling away and giving the company
indications of good things to come. John Smith had several
times passed through the house to the kitchen, and had
been very interested in watching the process of converting
the buffalo into the several different dishes which appeal to
Malay taste.

Of course the Penghulu's head wife was installed as
manager-in-chief of all the cooks, and she was ably assisted
by several other gorgeously-dressed ladies of the place.
These all sat in conclave at the back door of the kitchen,
while on the ground below, a party of elephant-drivers and
other men slaves cut the meat off the bones into convenient
collops, which were taken down to the river to be washed,
a very necessary process, for the meat had been thrown
about in the dirt a good deal. When brought back from the
river in baskets it was delivered over to a set of young women,
who cut it up into little bits, separating the different sorts
of meat into heaps for treatment: the solid meat of the
hind legs was cut into long, thin strips to hang up in the
sun for future use as jerked meat, "sun fruit," as the Malays
called it; the cheeks and lips and some other tit-bits were
salted down in jars, also for future use, for the good ladies
had a considerable idea of providing for the future, and
buffaloes were not killed every day; the liver and heart and
some other pieces were cut into nice little square dice, to
be converted into dry curry, and the intestines and the

295

fatter and more tender meat were laid aside for the curries,
served with gravy and seasoned with green ginger.

Another set of more experienced and older women then
received the meat into the kitchen, and rubbed into it the
hot chillies, salt, shredded onion, garlic and spices, and put
it into the great pots with the milky coconut emulsion, and
at last the cooking vessels and their contents were handed
down again to the ground and set on the fires to simmer
and boil, until the aromatic odour filled the air and called
in the neighbours to the feast. Special parts of the buffalo
were cooked in different ways for chiefs and others according
to their rank. A particularly soft stew of intestines and fat,
considered good for the voice, was prepared for the hajis,
who would chant the Koran presently, and the breast-bone,
with the scanty meat and fat attached, was arranged in a
bamboo frame and slanted over a heap of live coals, to be
carefully grilled; this is the "Raja's meat", and it is eaten
very hot, with a sauce of chillies and salt mixed with green
lime juice.

Just before sunset the order came from the kitchen that
everybody was to sit down, and the long rows of mats
arranged on the bare, beaten ground in front of 'Che Alang's
house were soon filled with hungry guests. Then a procession
of slaves appeared from the back with heaped-up wooden
trays of smoking rice, and brass trays full of coconut shells,
containing the differently cooked meats. These were arranged
alternately down the space between the rows of seated
guests, each of whom had provided himself with a clean
square of banana leaf for a plate; and then, when all the
dishes were set out, a reverend haji, „In the Name of God
the Merciful and Compassionate", asked for a blessing on
the food, after which they set to work to eat it.

In the meantime, 'Che Long, the bride, was being dressed

296

and adorned by her mother in the house, and her sisters
were being prepared to sit beside her as her supporters.
Rich silks and jewels had been borrowed from all the
neighbours to deck her with, and when she was placed on
the nuptial throne beside the chief post of the house, and
against a great pile of bolsters with gold and silver ends,
she looked quite a lovely bride. Her sister wives were
grouped behind her, trying to look as if they welcomed
her to a share of their husband, his power and goods; but
the prettiest item of the whole picture was dear little Uteh,
who sat demurely at her foster-sister's side, a step lower on
the throne, holding in her hands a silver box containing
some packets of betel leaf prepared for chewing, which
presently it would be the duty of the newly-wed wife to
eat with her husband, the Prince.

Si Uteh stared in front of her, with wide-open, great*
black eyes, her sweet pouting lips a little parted, showing
her as yet undamaged white teeth — a most enticing little
figure, and one well calculated to play havoc with the hearts
of the young men who would presently file in to do homage
to the bride and bridegroom. A very old lady sat on the
left of 'Che Long, holding an open fan before her face. A
vacant seat on her right was left for the coming bridegroom.

Word was sent out to the verandah that the bride was
enthroned and waiting, and the Prince, who, with John
Smith, the Penghulu and 'Che Alang, had eaten his own
wedding feast in state, passed into the house and took his
seat beside the bride. The Prince, probably because he was
the Prince, had not been constrained to adorn himself, but
sat down as he was in his travel-stained clothes; but he
was a fine-looking man for a Malay, and of a martial
appearance. He was in the prime of life, shorter in stature
even than most of his subjects, but thick-set, with curly

297

hair and quick, black eyes, which never appeared to rest
for more than a moment on any object, but continually
seemed to search for a meaning in everything at which
they glanced. John Smith surmised that the mania which
had such a disastrous outbreak a few days before was
perhaps not quite quieted, and trembled for fear of another
catastrophe; but whatever thoughts were passing in the
Prince's mind, the ceremonies of the marriage proceeded
with due decorum.

The customary questions as to the property of the con-
tracting parties were duly answered before the witnesses;
the little fingers of the bride and bridegroom were linked
together; the fan was lowered; Si Uteh passed up her box
of siri, which the bride and bridegroom partook of together,
and the actual ceremony was finished. It only remained for
the people to come in, pay their homage, and deposit their
offerings on the mat before the throne.

John Smith headed the procession. He laid down one of
his guns for the Prince, and for the bride, who was a sort
of a sister-in-law of his own, he put down a beautiful
necklace of gold beads made in Patani, exactly similar to
one he had given to Si Andak, and a roll of Chinese silk.
His generous gifts were applauded by the group round the
throne, and the Prince was evidently touched by the delicacy
displayed in giving him such as fine weapon, and that only
a few days after the late occurrence, when the donor had
fought and disarmed him. After him came the Penghulu,
and then the rest of the community. Some gave further
lengths of cloth or silk; some, little nuggets of gold, and
even small mat bags containing a gallon or so of rice.

When the ceremony of offering the gifts was over, the
Penghulu wished for the usual dances and games to be
performed, but the Prince refused to allow even the candle

298

dance to be executed; for he fell in with the view that
they should start early the next morning on their journey
to Patani, as it was essential that the Queen should be
warned in time to prepare for an invasion from Perak,
•which the Prince anticipated, as indeed did all the rest who
.knew of what had taken place.

The string of seven elephants started early with their
loads, after a good deal of rather angry talk on the part of
the Prince's three older wives, whom he decided to leave
behind, taking only 'Che Long. This was made a great
grievance of, and it was only after he had threatened to
divorce them that the poor ladies at last became a little
quiet. They were then left in charge of the Penghulu, who
had strict orders to keep a careful watch that they did not
send a message to Perak, in revenge for the slight] put
upon them.

All 'Che Alang's family went, and also the Semang chief,
whom John Smith wished to present to the Queen in order
to ask her to reward him for his loyalty, the Perak officer,
in charge of two of the Patani boatmen, occupied one
elephant, and two were loaded with provisions and other
articles. The commercial venture had not produced much
in the way of elephant loads, but the merchant was returning
with a prisoner, a captured staff of office, and a vassal of
the crown, who had seen the error of his ways and was
coming in to sue for pardon; so that his expedition had
been fairly successful; and so far as he was personally
concerned, not the least important item of his home coming
was the new inmate for his own harem, who, although she
was a little sorrowful at the thought that her undivided
claim to her lord's affections was now nearly over, consoled
herself with the remembrance that at least he had spent
some months with her alone, and that after all she would

299

be as well off, and better, than most other women, for her
master was a man of high rank, and would now, it was
quite certain, be still more favoured by the great Queen.

Si Andak had known that her lord was already the
master of two damsels, even before that night soon after
his arrival, when they went together to commence their
love story in the little house which he had built by the
river, by way of a futile attempt to escape his fate — a
circumstance which he was often playfully reminded of by
his loving mistress.

They had a four days' elephant ride over to the Patani
River, which they struck some distance above the place
where the prahus had been hidden. They then followed the
river down until they found the prahus, and John Smith
and the Prince, with their respective wives, embarked. There
was no room for any more, so the others continued their
journey by elephant until they arrived at the tin mines.
There they got two other prahus, paying for them by
loading the tin — which they were going to take down
river — on their elephants, which followed on more slowly
by the regular elephant track.

And so in a very short time they got to the Queen's
city of Patani, where they were received with great rejoicing.
Si Andak's reception by her sister wives was quite cordial,
for these sensible girls looked at it from the point of view
that, if it had not been for her attention to his comfort, he
would certainly not have returned so well and happy as
he did.

Plurality of wives and facility of divorce make for the
good morals of the East, and especially does this apply to
those races which profess the creed of Mohamad. The gentle-
mannered and conservative Malay has mixed up with his
creed many old traditions and customs which are, perhaps,

300

not quite orthodox, and perhaps also he has some vices
which are not found in the West; but taking it altogether*
John Smith records that vice and immorality were not
flaunted so openly in the streets of Patani as they were in
those of London or Paris, and he shrewdly gave it as his
opinion that abstinence from strong drink was chiefly the
cause of the greater decorum apparent in the Eastern city.

The Queen called a council of all her notable chiefs in
order to ascertain whether she might rely on their help to
maintain her authority in Raman, and in order that her
agent might explain what he had found out about the feeling
of the people.

The Prince of Raman was called before the council, and
had to answer for his action in allowing the Perak agents
in his province. He was looked upon as a rebel, and most
of the council considered that he deserved death, as also
did the Queen herself; but John Smith begged for his life,
saying that he was sure the Prince was not a rebel at heart,
but that perhaps, living as he did, nearer the centre of
Perak government than Patani, and in fact in territory that
might be fairly claimed by Perak, he was unduly subject
to Perak influence. Moreover, he had perhaps been rather
neglected by his proper overlord; in fact, he told the Queen
and her council very plainly that if they hoped to retain
their authority in the distant provinces, they must do some-
thing more than require the chiefs to come in periodically
to do homage and pay tribute. He also told the Queen and
her council that great help had been given to him by the
Chief of the Semangs, and advised that, if ever there was
any fighting with Perak, these tribes should be encouraged
in every way, as he was quite sure they would make most
excellent forest fighters; nor did he forget to say a good
word for old 'Che Alang; so that when these worthies

301

arrived a few days after with the elephants, they were
treated with great honour. The Semang chief was accorded
a fine fighting dress, the same as that worn by a Malay
chief of high rank, with a spear and a kris profusely ornamented
with gold, and he was also given the title of Stia Raja
Balantara, or The faithful Prince of the Desert.

'Che Alang was also made an officer of the Queen's
household, and together with his wife and Si Uteh was
given a house within the Royal compound. The State council
finally decided that the Prince of Raman should be punished
by a fine of the four elephants which had been brought to
Patani, together with their drivers, who were, of course, his
slaves. Two of these elephants were claimed by the Queen
as her share of the fine, one was given to John Smith, and
the other to 'Che Alang; this was according to Malay
custom, by which the half of all fines imposed by the King
is claimed by him, and the other half is divided amongst
the aggrieved parties and those who are instrumental in
bringing the culprit to justice. The Prince was also deprived
of his province and ordered to reside in Patani.

The Queen was very anxious to appoint John Smith
Prince of Raman, and the ex-Prince also begged that he
might be given the post, but some of the councillors were
against this, as he was an alien and not of The Faith ; and
I he himself also persuaded the Queen that he could not
accept the post, because, as he reminded her, he could not
take up a position which must be held permanently, and
which it would be against the traditions of the country for
^ an alien to fill. Moreover he said he felt convinced that the
Raman people could only be properly governed by a Prince
having Semang blood in his veins. He had now been nearly
a year in Patani, and probably before the end of a second
year James Neccy would return to the East, and would

302

want him to rejoin him, either in the proposed expedition
against Malacca, if it was undertaken, or perhaps after an
interval spent in trading, the ships would return to Europe;
but, as he assured the Queen, he did not mean to stay-
there, for he had by this time quite made up his mind
that he would spend most of his life in the East.

It was finally decided that the Semang chief should spend
a month travelling about the different provinces, and sending
drafts of the young men from the different clans of Semangs
into Raman, with orders to his own people to move with
them down to te present Perak frontier, so as to be in
readiness to repel any invasion from that State, and also
to send word back to Patani of everything which took place.

John Smith would, in the meantime, rest for a month or
six weeks in Patani, and then, armed with the Queen's
authority, and accompanied by about fifty fighting men,
who were to form the nucleus of an army, he would also
move down into Raman and be prepared to repel invasion.
Besides this, in conjunction with the Semang and Raman
chiefs, he was to proceed to find out the proper person to
succeed as Prince of Raman ; and when that man was found,
he was empowered by the Queen to proclaim him, and put
him in possession of the throne.

Old 'Che Alang was offered the post of Dato' Dagang by
the Queen, in place of John Smith, who would be absent
perhaps for another year, if not in Raman, then in the
other provinces; but 'Che Alang asked to be excused from
accepting the Queen's offer, as he had already agreed that,
during his absence, he would look after his friends trading
business, and endeavour to reduce the bulk by bartering
the heavy and cumbersome goods for more compact and
valuable merchandise. 'Che Alang was very capable of
carrying on this sort of trade as he had been used to it all

303

his life, and being devoted to John Smith, the latter was
quite sure that his interests would be safe-guarded. The old
man would also be left in charge of his friend's household
and family — not a light responsibility by any means —
but he was thankful that the three young ladies were disposed
to be good friends, and were all of them light-hearted, so
that they were after all only like children, and with sweet
little Si Uteh, they all soon looked up to 'Che Alang and
his wife as equal to foster parents.

There was another household to stay in Patani which was
not perhaps quite so contented ; this was the very much
reduced establishment of the ex-Prince ; 'Che Long was very
devoted to him, and did all she could to make him happy ;
but without doubt he brooded over his disgrace, and it was
very probable that at some future time his homicidal mania
would reassert itself and he would once more run a-muck.
John Smith offered to take him back to Raman and see if
the Semangs and Raman chiefs would have him again as
Prince, but the Queen would not agree to this, and it was
ultimately decided to send him to Siam with the embassy,
to report that it was expected Perak was about to invade
Raman, but that the Queen had made arrangements to
repel the attack and would not require any assistance from
her Suzerain.

The State council advised that this report should be made,
so as not to seem to repudiate the Siamese rule and over-
lordship entirely; but at the same time neither the Queen
nor her advisers wished to ask for assistance, and so lay
the State under an obhgation, if it could be avoided.

CHAPTER XXX.

The Semang chief had been about a month travelling
through the provinces dependent on the great Queen, and
had come back to Patani to report that he had persuaded
the Semang chiefs whom he had visited, to send parties of
their different clans into Raman to assist in repelling an
expected invasion of the Perak Sakais. The Semangs, it
must be remembered, did not recognise the Malays of either
Perak or Patani, as races distinct from the aborigines, for
the Perak Malays were Sakais, and the Patani Malays,
Semangs.

The chief told the Queen and her councillors that at least
five hundred men, besides women and children, were gradually
moving down into Raman. They would travel slowly and
as they moved from place to place they would steadily
increase their store of preserved food, roots — macerated
in water and grated with rattans to make them fit for
human food, and then packed in joints of bamboo for ease
of transport — the flesh of wild animals and fish dried in
the sun, hard-shelled nuts, and others like chestnuts —
all were collected; so that when they formed a junction
with the Raman Semangs on the Perak frontier, there should
not at any rate be a lack of food at first, in consequence
of the assemblage of so large a quantity of people in a
confined district.

The chief talked very proudly of going over into Perak

305

territory and not waiting for the Sakais to make their
invasion, but the Queen gave him strict orders not to do
so, and John Smith seeing that he was so belHcose and
likely to start the fighting too soon, hurried on his own
preparations and started a week after the Semang chief for
Raman, after agreeing to meet him near the Prince's katnpong,
and the Chief promising to send back messengers if he
found that the Perak people had started the war by coming
into Raman territory.

The first thing to be done was to capture the other
Perak agents, if they were still in Raman. The Semang
chief was to rouse his tribesmen, and John Smith was to
stir up the Malays, as each of them passed through the
country. The lesser chiefs of the Malays, with as many
followers as they could bring, and the Semangs were to
collect in as large numbers as possible at the „Place of the
Prince's palace," in order, ostensibly, to elect a new Prince;
and when they were gathered there and the new Prince
elected, the Queen's Commissioner would use his discretion
as to carrying war into Perak, or merely providing means
for the defence of the frontier.

Very proud were the three young ladies when they saw
their lord and master mounted on his own elephant, and
supported by the most famous war captain in Patani, take
his ceremonious leave of the Queen, who came to the gate
of her Palace richly attired and veiled, and attended by
all her chamberlains and ladies to see him start — an
honour which she had never before accorded to one of her
officers.

Perhaps Si Andak's lips quivered a little, and her eyes
grew moist, as he rode away. Poor Andak, she was fated
never to see him again ! Hers was a more romantic liason
than the coming together of the white man and the other

3o6

two girls, which was more or less by order of the Queen,
although that connection had also turned out happily.

But the worst leave-taking had been in his own house
before he went to see the Queen. Poor little Uteh ! She
was almost broken-hearted, for she had got to love her
sister's lord with a passion which, in her innocence, she
could not disguise. She was now over the age when girls
are generally either married, or have entered into alliances,
which, if they are not real marriages according to law, are
the same thing made in Nature's own court of love. She
clung to her hero, and vowed she would not let him go
until he had promised to marry her on his return. She
cared not that he had other concubines, nor that one of
them was her own sister; she declared that if he did not
take her as well she would kill herself.

John Smith did what he could to soQthe her and to
explain that it would be wrong for him to marry her as
well as her sister, but nothing would satisfy her; and at last,
instigated by her mother, he gave the desired promise. It was
not at all an unusual thing for a man to marry two sisters,
especially if the first one he had married proved childless;
and it was expected of him, if the first wife died, for her
sister then naturally took her place, without it being obligatory
to provide a marriage feast. As the Malays put it, he merely
"changed his sleeping-mat".

All these matters being at last settled, the little army
made its start. All but about ten of the fifty soldiers went
up-river in prahus, taking with them a quantity of rice,
which was to be deposited at the landing-place for the tin
mines. With John Smith went ten elephants, carrying, besides
the ten soldiers and the Queen's most trusted war captain,
a further supply of rice. It was intended that the Queen
should keep sending up rice in prahus to the mines, whence

3o;

the elephants would carry it on to Raman. By this means,
also, communication would be kept up between the Queen
and her small army.

They hoped to be able to get more Malays from Raman
for the fighting line, but if they found that Perak put too
many men into the field for them to cope with, the Queen
promised to send more regular soldiers. John Smith's men
were all armed with guns of one sort or another. There
were a few matchlocks, which the Queen had purchased of
him, and she had also some of her own ; but nearly half of
the fifty men were armed with what were called hand guns,
these were simply straight tubes of iron closed at one end
and provided with a touchhole; very small canon in fact,
about three feet long and carrying a bullet one ounce in
weight. They were lashed to a stout pole and fired with a
linstock, the end of the pole being held under the arm and
the gun resting on anything which was handy. They were
not very effective weapons, for there was no chance of taking
aim; but the noise they made was calculated to frighten
the enemy a little.

The elephants arrived at the mines a few days before the
prahus, and John Smith took the opportunity to make
arrangements for the Queen's prahus to go back down river
laden with tin, and also to recruit a few more soldiers from
amongst the foreign Malays who were working on the mines.
When the prahus arrived, he had all his elephants loaded
with rice, and made all his men walk, setting the example
himself. He was thus enabled to get a large supply of rice
forward. He knew that the sight of plenty of food would
be the very best means of inducing recruits to join his
ranks; for it was a very common thing for the rice crop to
fail, and for the people to be obliged to live for a whole
season on tapioca root and maize, even if they did not

3o8

come down to the Semang diet of wild roots and fruits.
A certain supply of rice had its attractions, therefore, for
the people.

It was a tiresome march over into the territory occupied
by the Raman people, and everybody was heartily sick of
it before they arrived at the kampong where John Smith
had stayed previously. The Penghulu was overjoyed to see
them. He had been apprised of their coming by the Semang
chief, who had, two weeks before, gone on towards Perak,
and was very busy getting his men moved forward.

The Penghulu had heard that the other Perak agents had
gone back to their own State, and that they had of course
reported the death of their chief. The country generally
was in a great state of excitement about the disappearance
of the Prince, and had only just found out that he was in
Patani; but what was of the most importance was that
parties of Perak Malays had moved up to within a day's
march of the Prince's palace, had there built stockades, and
had sent word to all the chiefs that they were only the
vanguard of a large army, which would be shortly on its
way to devastate the country, unless due submission was
made and tribute given by the chiefs to the King of Perak,
who would then appoint a Prince to govern the country
for him.

This was, after all, only the news which John Smith had
expected, but he thought that most hkely the great army
talked about was a good deal exaggerated; still, the fact
that stockades had been built was evidence that the King
of Perak meant to do something. He therefore sent the
elephants back to Patani with a request that about two
hundred soldiers, and a further supply of rice should be
sent on as soon as possible, and advising that more elephants
should be procured, so as to augment the supplies of food,

309

for he realised that this would be the most important weapon
to fight with.

He sent out messengers to all the chiefs to meet him at
the Prince's palace as soon as possible, with as many fighting
men as they could muster; engaged prahus to take his
stock of rice down the river, and went down himself with
his fifty fighting men, to take possession of the palace,
which he intended using as his own headquarters, at any
rate until the new Prince was appointed.

He found the palace, and in fact the whole district, almost
deserted, but the few people who were still about had made
up their minds to accept the King of Perak's ultimatum,
and were already arranging to send their submission and
tribute down the river. The Penghulu, or subordinate chief
of the place, had been forced, he said, by the people to
this course, but there was a whisper that it was not much
against his inclination; in fact, from what people said, they
were very much of the opinion that it was this chief who
in the first instance instigated the Prince to offer allegiance
to Perak.

John Smith found a goodly quantity of rice belonging to
the late ex-Prince in his granary, and adding that which
he had brought to the stock, he put a guard over it, and
started to administer the country as Governor, pending the
appointment of a properly elected chief.

He was not as yet strong enough to attempt even to get
into touch with the enemy; but after less than a week
three chiefs came in with about one hundred followers, and
what was still more gratifying, his old friend the Semang
chief arrived and reported that he had nearly a thousand
men in the forest, along a line which could be communicated
with by signal fires. The new arrival was quite sure that
they could keep the whole of Perak out of Raman. He had

3IO

ascertained, he said, that there were three parties of Perak
men, about one hundred strong, posted at different places,
and that they had protected themselves by building stockades;
and he gave it as his opinion that the King of Perak did
really mean to invade the country, otherwise he would not
have sent on these parties to entrench themselves. Meanwhile
he strongly advised that the Queen be asked to send on
more men at once, with plenty of rice. His own men, he
remarked, were self-supporting, for they were attended by
their women, who did all the providing. Finally he said
that he wanted now to go right on into Perak territory and
thus cut off the three stockades from their base.

This was wise advice undoubtedly, and as soon as more
Raman Malays had collected and the election of the new
Prince was finished, John Smith thought he would act on
it; but the first thing to do was to provide for an actual
and responsible head of the province, whom both Malays
and Semangs would recognise and obey.

Not much difficulty was experienced in selecting the
proper man, for a cousin of the ex-Prince was chosen by
the Malay chiefs, approved of by the Semangs, and quickly
installed in the palace as governing Prince. He took an
oath of fealty to the Queen of Patani, as his overlord, before
John Smith, as her representative, and the Raman and
Semang chiefs. In addition, they made him swear not to
admit any agent from the King of Perak into his province,
and to do his utmost to stop the present invasion. When
this was done he was installed in the seat of honour at the
inner end of the palace, and all the chiefs did homage to
him. John Smith now changed his quarters and went to
live in a house near by.

It seemed advisable that the newly-installed Prince should
not take the field personally against the invaders, at any

311

rate not for the present. He was therefore put in charge of
the rice supply and the communications with Patani. He
was himself a man of some considerable property, owning
four elephants and a great herd of water buffaloes. His
elephants were immediately sent off after rice, and he
offered of his own free will to kill his buffaloes, two or
three every week, to keep the fighting men supplied with
sun-dried meat. This was a very great help, because, although
the Queen of Patani sent over bundles of dried fish, it
would be difficult, if the campaign lasted any length of
time, to keep the men contented on dried fish and rice
with the scanty vegetables which they were able to procure.

Having thus disposed of the business of installing the
Prince and providing for supplies and communications, John
Smith was now anxious to take the field; so he arranged
with the Semang chief to make a move and, if on examination
it seemed practicable, to attack the stockade which was
nearest to the Prince's palace.

He took out with him twenty-five of the Patani soldiers
and one hundred Raman men. These latter were armed
only with spears, swords and krises, and of course were
useles except at close quarters. But he depended a great
deal more on the bows and arrows of the Semangs than
he did on them. He himself went unarmed, except for his
sword, for the sake of travelling light, but his musket was
carried behind him by a man so as to be ready for an
emergency. The stockade was said to be close to the river,
and the expedition therefore embarked in prahus, which
carried many of the little swivel guns common all over the
Peninsula.

When they got to within about five miles of the fort,
John Smith landed and met the Semang chief, who had
agreed to wait for him with about one hundred men. With

312

these forest warriors he made a detour, and after a hard
march through the forest, struck the river some distance
below the fort, in order to cut off the retreat of the Perak
men, supposing that the Malays, who were to attack from
the prahus, succeeded in driving them out.

Carefully they crept up to the fort under cover of the
trees, until they were within two hundred yards, and then
the Semang chief and John Smith went forward alone and
got so close that by climbing a tree they could look right
over the palisades and see what was going on inside.

The Semang chief was for calling up his men and pouring
-in a flight of arrows from the tree tops, but that would have
been very dangerous, as the Perak men seemed to be well
supplied with fire-arms, and would easily pick off the bowmen
from such exposed situations. It seemed better therefore, to
await the attack from the prahus, and then, when the
defenders were engaged on that side, perhaps in the confusion
a few Semangs might get into the trees without being
noticed, and do a good deal of damage; but if the fort was
attacked from both sides, there would be no apparent way
of escape for the inmates, who would thus become desperate
and be sure to do much damage before they succumbed to
numbers. They had prahus on the river, and would, without
doubt, take to them if they found themselves hard pressed,
and if they could get to them. Then, again, they might
make a sally to attack the Raman prahus when they would
be exposed to the Semang bowmen, and would inevitably
be caught at a great disadvantage. He persuaded the old
chief, therefore, to stay quiet in the tree and watch how
they bore the attack from the river, before he summoned
his men. The cunning old man had, however, a scheme of
his own, and slipping down from his perch he went back
to his men and arranged that twenty of them should come

313

forward into the trees if he called them. He had time to
do this and to get back to his post of observation before
the attack began.

They waited patiently for another hour before anything
occurred, and then they saw a small prahu, with three men in
it, coming round a bend of the river as fast as the paddles
could make her move through the water. As she came on,
the men shouted out a warning, which sent into the fort
^bout twenty other men, who were fishing along the bank
of the river and getting timber to strengthen the fences.
These all rushed into the stockade, which was soon alive
with them manning the walls and handling their weapons.
It was not long before the Raman prahus came in sight,
and then the firing commenced; but it was very plainly to
be seen that both sides were more intent on fireworks than
-real fighting, for the prahus stopped at such a distance off,
in order to keep out of range of the hand-guns and little
-cannons used by the defenders of the fort, that their own
artillery was equally ineffective. John Smith quickly saw
that if the fight, or rather the pretence of a fight, was to
keep on longer in this style, the only effect would be to
-waste his precious ammunition; so he asked the chief to
call up his bowmen.

Three times the old man uttered the long-drawn-out "kiiau"
of the argus pheasant, and in response a score of naked
men, with bows as tall as themselves, stealthily crept up
until they were under the grove of big durien trees, in one
of which John Smith and the chief were hidden. Quietly
and as agilely as the long-armed apes of the forest, these
dusky warriors swarmed up the trees, two or three in each,
until they were all in position, hidden in the thick leafy
branches, but every one of them having a good view of
the backs of the Perak men, who were too intent on their

314

artillery duel with the prahus to notice what was going on
behind and above them.

So far not a man either in the boats or the fort had
been hit, but a most interesting lot of gun practise had
taken place, and many shouts of defiance had been exchanged,
for each side had freely cursed the other, collectively and
individually, and with much obscene vituperation had referred
to the progenitors of these brave warriors. But the defenders
of the fort did not seem inclined to sally forth and chase
their assailants, which they might easily have done, as their
prahus were all in the river close to the fort, and so far as
they knew they exceeded them in number, besides being
better armed; nor did the attacking party dare get any
nearer, apparently for fear of their lives. And so, probably,
the laughable battle would have gone on until all the
ammunition was expended, if the Malays had been allowed
to conduct it on their own Hnes. But John Smith was getting
tired of it, and so was the old Semang chief; so at a hint
from the former, the latter uttered an immitation of the
sharp discordant scream of the great brown hawk which
was everywhere so common, and twenty bow-strings twanged
almost together, for the intent little warriors were all alert
waiting for the signal. Then the Perak men knew what
fighting meant, for ten of them went down, and five or six
more staggered about, but they all knew that they had
their death wound, for the arrows were poisoned with the
juice of the deadly ipoh, and not one of those who saw
them doubted for a moment but that the dreaded Semang
bowmen had come into the fight. A second flight of arrows
struck down more of them before they realised where the
assault came from, and that it was not now an afiair of
spHntering off chips from their palisades with half-spent
bullets fired from a safe distance. Then with one accord

315

they left the walls, to seek shelter in the huts which were
built in the centre of the stockade.

Seeing this, John Smith shouted to the assailants to dash
in and storm the stockade; but he could not persuade them
to desist from their futile fireworks, although it was not now
even replied to — afterwards the famous Patani war captain
said they never heard him; — so he scrambled down the
tree and ran along the river bank until he got to where
the Perak prahus were moored, and getting into a little
dug-out he paddled up to his own force, at the imminent
risk of his life from the Raman bullets, which seemed to be
aimed at anything rather than the fort. By dint of shouting
and gesticulating he at length succeeded in stopping the
waste of powder, and when he got up to them and told
them how little damage they had done, the Patani captain
did not seem at all astonished, but triumphantly pointed to
his own force and showed him that not one of his men
had received a scratch.

This was all very well, but it certainly was not war, as
the white man understood it; so he called the boats together
and told the men how the wild Semangs had already killed
over twenty of the enemy, and had got the garrison penned
up in the huts. Thus he made them ashamed of the little
they had done compared with what the wild men had
accomplished, and urged them to discard their guns entirely
and storm the place spear and kris in hand, promising
them that he would lead them, and that the Semang bowmen
in the trees and in the forest round the fort would support them.

He had not much difficulty in getting them excited, for
the fact was, they were more used to hand-to-hand fighting
than they were to firearms, and if they were properly led,
would go a long way and fight a good fight to the finish.
Seeing that they now looked determined, he shouted to

3i6

them to follow, and starting his little dug-out down stream,
it was soon a race to see which prahu would get there first.
The clamour they made brought the Perak men to the
walls again, and in spite of the galling arrows from the
trees thej^ made a good stand, but they were demoralised,
and when the Raman and Patani men grounded their prahus
and jumped ashore, John Smith with his long rapier pointing
out to them the way to the gate, it did not require the
loud and reiterated cries of "Amok! Amok!" to thoroughly
frighten them. It was then only a question of how strong
-the gate was, and whether the attacking party could be kept
at work hewing a way through it, should the defenders
make a serious attempt to stop them by firing through
the bars.

They made a rush across the two hundred yards of cleared

ground between the river and the gate, but not without

loss, for if they could do no harm at long range, the clumsy

guns could kill well enough at close quarters, and four men

bit the dust before they reached the wall. But the attacking

party were now excited and their blood was boiling. The

Patani war captain also showed his quality by taking a

lead and shouting "Amok!" louder than anyone else, as he

also hacked away at the gate; but as he did really behave

himself something like a soldier, his shouts and bombast did

not matter so much. Soon a hole was made big enough

for a man to get through, and John Smith, quickly followed •

by others, got in. It was then a hand-to-hand fight for a

while, until the fast-increasing numbers of the assailants

drove the Perak men before them across the square enclosure,

where they made for another gate, hoping to get to their

prahus. But as soon as they got out, the Semang arrows

from the trees struck them; and as they made for the

river — about twenty only of them that were left — the

317

other party of Semangs met them, and all except two fell,
pierced by arrows or stabbed with bamboo-bladed spears.
The two who did manage to push off in a small dugout
were also dead men before they reached the middle of the
river, and thus the arrows which stuck in their bodies and
in the sides of the canoe would tell the tale as they drifted
down stream, and when the rumour of it reached the ears
of the King of Perak, he would realise that at least some
of his soldiers had met with disaster.

It was a very complete victory, and had been won at
small cost, for only ten Malays and six Semangs had been
killed on the side of the attacking force; but every one of
the Perak men went under. The Patani captain boasted not
a little of his share in the fight ; and the victory, if he was
to be believed, was entirely due to his own prowess; but
then, as he was never tired of telling people, he was invul-
nerable, so that the credit of bravery was not so much his
due, because it was impossible to win a fight against his
leadership.

The Semangs were for throwing the dead bodies in the
river, but the Raman Malays insisted on giving them proper
burial, for although they might be enemies, at least they
were Mohamadans, and it would be disgraceful not to bury
them. So dead foeman and gallant friend were laid side by
side in the same grave, and the same prayer for their quiet
and undisturbed rest was said over each body as it was
committed to the earth.

The Patani captain then wanted to move on to the other
forts and take them in detail; but John Smith was afraid
to risk this with the men he had; so fifty Malays were left
in the captured fort, with about as many Semangs to camp
in the adjacent forest, and the remainder of the force went
back up-stream to the Prince's palace, to await a more

3i8

favourable chance and the arrival of more men from Patani.
The captured weapons — except the guns, which they
did not want — were all distributed amongst the Semangs,
who were greatly gratified by John Smith's thoughtfulness
in seeing that they got possession of them. There was a
good store of rice in the fort which came in handy for the
new garrison, who were a little nervous about being left,
but who did not for a moment question John Smith's orders,
for they realised that he knew best what to do, and ultimately
went into their new quarters cheerfully enough.

CHAPTER XXXI.

When they got back to the Prince's palace they found
that he was energetically engaged in recruiting, and had
already got together over a hundred men of his own people.
They also found that twelve elephants had arrived from
Patani with rice and bundles of salt fish, and in addition,
the Queen had sent some gunpowder and bullets, as well
as a very affectionate letter to her adopted son, John Smith.
She had not, of course, heard anything as yet about the
election of the new Prince, nor what was being done about
the defence of the country against Perak aggression, but
she said that she was shortly sending on two hundred
soldiers, but advised that they should not invade Perak
territory, unless they thought that it was absolutely necessary.

The ex-Prince of Raman had not as yet started on his
journey to Siam, and the Queen was afraid that he was
likely to become dangerous, as he had seemed very sick
at heart lately. All John Smith's household were flourishing,
and she quite approved of his taking little Uteh to wife on
his return. This was all very satisfactory news and made
things easy, for the arrival of the elephant loads of rice
showed the people that the Queen was in earnest about
defending her people against Perak, and meant to bear her
share of the expense.

They waited three days at the Prince's kampong, sending
down twenty-five more men with four elephant loads of rice
to the captured fort; and then when the two hundred

320

soldiers came down the river and had rested for another
two days, they organised expeditions against the other two
forts. John Smith was so pleased with the conduct of the
Semangs that he wished to see how they would fight alone,
and therefore persuaded the Patani captain to lead a party
of Malays, half Patani and half Raman men, against one
fort, whilst he attacked the other with Semangs only.

The old Semang chief had personally examined both the

forts, and had found them situated on different streams

running into the Perak River. Both streams were navigable

for small prahus; but neither of the forts was so easy to

attack as the one they had taken, because they were situated

in open glades of the forest, with no trees near enough to

afford cover. The open land was, however, overgrown with

thick coarse grass, which might perhaps afford cover if the

assailants crept through it on their bellies; but as this grass

was very inflammable, without doubt the garrison had cut

down a wide belt of it round the fort for their own protection.

The Patani captain said that he should lead his men

straight on and take his stockade by storm, without any

hesitation. He did not want any cover, not he! He was not

afraid of any Perak soldiers; and he offered to lay a wager

of his share of the booty against John Smith's that he took

his fort and returned triumphantly to the Prince's palace

before the white man and his savages. John Smith was very

pleased to observe this spirit, and encouraged it all he

could by accepting the wager, and by adding to it, by way

of odds in the Captain's favour, his new flint-lock musket,

which the gallant Captain had coveted a good deal.

The two forts were about equi-distant from the Prince's
place, on streams on either side of the Perak River. They
were two days' journey from the palace. The two parties
started at the same time. The savage army consisted of

321

three hundred Semangs with the head chief; and the Patani
captain had two hundred and fifty Malays, about half Raman
men and the rest Queen's soldiers, and nearly one hundred
of these were armed with guns of different descriptions,
while the Semangs, of course, only had bows. The Malay
force was also accompanied by six elephants laden with
rice, and the wild men were followed by about a hundred
women who would forage for them. It was the first time John
Smith had trusted himself entirely to the wild men, and
the experience was very interesting to him. His forest
warriors were entirely devoted to him and did all they
could to make him as comfortable as possible, so that he
greatly enjoyed his two days' march and two nights' camping
out. On the third morning the main body of the force
halted on the river, some distance below the Perak stockade,
and he went forward with the Semang chief and half-a-dozen
men to reconnoitre.

Two hours' scrambling through the forest brought them
to the edge of the open' ground, at wich point they were
able to see the stockade on the river bank. The grassy
open ground seemed to be about three-quarters of a mile
in diameter. It was evidently an old clearing, and had in
course of time become overgrown with coarse grass, which
the forest growths had not succeeded in killing. Probably
from one cause or another, and at different times, the grass
had been burnt, and young trees, which had sprung up from
seeds blown or carried out of the forest, had thus been
periodically destroyed, and the grass had again sprung up
from the unkilled roots, thus demonstrating its power to
hold the soil even against the mighty trees of the forest.

Often had the white adventurer in these remote jungles
pondered and been struck with amazement at the wonderful
battle of the plants for ascendency, and at the strenuous

21

322

and apparently almost intelligent struggle with which each
species strove against its neighbour for a share of the best
soil and a modicum of sunshine. Each tree seemed to strive
to attain a greater height than the others, in order to escape
from the gloomy shadows and develop its flowers and young
shoots in the warmer atmosphere above. In some places
creepers and climbing palms would entirely master and, by
sheer excessive growth, strangle the biggest monarchs of
the forest; in others creeping ferns would do the deed; or
perhaps, as in the instance which now met his gaze, it
would be a coarse grass, the growth of which would be only
augmented by periodical burnings.

Truly it seemed as if the monkeys and birds living in the
tree-tops were really better treated than the members of the
human race who were condemned to live on the ground,
for these denizens of the upper zone moved about in a
profuse garden of flowers and fruits; whilst the latter were
constrained to be contented with the brown earth and the
fallen and decayed timber with which it was strewn, and
which was destined to be the meat for a thousand diff'erent
insects, which thus, instead of the more highly organised
and beautiful tenants of the tree tops, were the companions
of their walk in life. But there was not time for this sort
of morahzing; there was the fort, and the question was how
it was to be taken.

The little band of scouts crept round the glade, under
cover of the edge of the forest, and examined it from every
side. They chmbed into tall trees and looked down into
the stockade, but they were too far off to attack it from
the tree tops, as they had so successfully done with the
other one. Once they heard some one chopping wood, and
creeping quietly up, they discovered two Malays engaged
in trimming a long pole, probably intended for the post of

323

a hut. They dare not let them escape, so four arrows brought
them down, but it seemed almost like murder, for they
were not given a chance to defend themselves. But if they
had, there would have been an outcry, or perhaps the
struggle might have been seen from the fort if they had
escaped into the open. The risk of this was too great, so
they were killed and left to rot in their tracks.

From the tree-tops they could see that there were prahus
on the river; these were probably used to supply the fort
with provisions. They also saw that, as had been surmised,
the grass had been carefully cut down in a ring of about
twenty yards wide all round the fort, to protect it if the
lalang — as the coarse grass was called — caught fire.
Having seen all they could, they returned to the camp,
which was pitched in the forest some five miles away from
the fort.

John Smith tried to get a suggestion from the chief as
to the best way to attack the fort, but the cautious old
man would give no opinion. He seemed to think that it
was no business of his: there was the white man, who must
certainly know best what to do, and for his part he and
his men only awaited orders, and whatever they were told
to do, that should be done, and it did not matter how
many died in doing it.

After thinking the matter out, their white chief hit upon
a plan which he thought would answer, and which the
Semang chief — Stia Raja Balantara, as he must now be
called — when he understood it, quite fell in with. The
preparations to carry out the project would take at least
two days, but neither of them thought that the wager with
the Patani captain would be lost because of the delay.

They first retired another five miles away into the forest,
so as to be out of reach of any chance interruption by men

324

who might stray from the stockade, or go into the forest
for game or other matters.

They then sent out a party of fifty men to tap some
oil-bearing trees which were known to them. This wood
oil was a regular article of commerce, and one of the natural
productions of the forest which the wild men collected for
the Malay chiefs by way of tribute. It was obtained by
cutting a deep notch in the tree, with a cup-like depression
at the base. This cup, after an interval of a day or two,
became filled with a valuable oil, which exuded from the
wound, and it was then collected by the Semangs in bamboo
receptacles.

Another party was sent back to an abandoned clearing —
once a Perak Malay kampong — on the river, to fetch a
quantity of raw cotton from some trees which were now
full of ripened pods. Others were engaged in searching for
a supply of tinder, and in providing little bamboo cases to
carry it in alight. These also selected suitable bits of dry
wood and bamboo for producing fire by friction.

All these preparations took some time, and it was three
whole days before they were ready to advance. By that
time each man was supplied with tinder in a small bamboo
case, perforated so as to create a draught through it and
keep the fuel smouldering, and two suitable bits of hard
wood or bamboo to produce fire by friction. In addition he
had fixed balls of raw cotton, soaked in inflammable oil,
on to two of his arrows just below the heads.

Everything was now ready for a start, and the men were
given their final instructions. First they marched up to
within a mile of the clearing in a body, and then separating
into two parties, one went to the right and the other to
the left. That to the right was led by John Smith, and the
other by Stia Raja; and thus they travelled round the clearing.

325

dropping a man at intervals of about every fifty yards, until
they arrived at the river bank with about twenty men left
of each party. It was now just getting dusk, and the men
were warned by a call of the argus pheasant, repeated from
man to man, to close up to the edge of the clearing; and
as they closed up, the intervals between them became
naturally less, so that by the time they were at the edge
of the timber they were within easy speaking distance.

It was now necessary to wait awhile, as it was not thought
advisable to attack until after mid-night, when the Perak
men would be fast asleep and taken at greater disadvantage.
So the word was passed round for all to stop where they
were and eat their evening meal of prepared tapioca root.
It was weary waiting for the white man, who was not so
innured to sitting still and being eaten by mosquitoes and
sand flies, as were his comrades, the wild men; but at last
he heard the welcome signal from Stia Raja, who had
agreed to decide on the proper moment for the advance.

Two quick calls of the argus pheasant, and then after a
short interval a third. At this signal each man was to
commence the not very easy task of obtaining a spark from
his fire sticks and to ignite his tinder; the tinderbox was
then to be stuck in the back of his belt, his naked back
being protected from possible burns by a sheet of green
bark. As soon as his tinder was well alight, each warrior
commenced to creep forward on his belly through the long
grass, the small points of light, even if they were seen
from the fort, would be taken for fireflies, which were
everywhere dancing about in the air, myriads of them,
simultaneously flashing and shutting off their lamps as if
by an automatic process or by word of command. It took
them more than an hour to crawl through the grass up to
the edge of the belt which had been cut down, and it was

326

anxious work for the last two hundred yards; in fact John
Smith was tormented all the time for fear a spark should
set light to the grass as his men moved through it: but at
last they all arrived, and every man as he got to his
position gave the call of the goat-sucker, "tip-ta-bau," —
the note which each evening told the good Mohamadan
that it was time for prayers. The sentries in the stockade,
if they heard the calls, must have thought that the forest
was full of the feathered muezzins, and that they had by
some strange chance agreed to wake people to prayers at
an unprecedented hour.

But the poor sentries had little time to speculate, for
suddenly the harsh scream of the great hawk was heard,
an unusual and disturbing note at that hour, and the harbinger
of evil to come. Immediately following this call, the fort
was encircled with a ring of points of fire, which glowed
and increased in power and strength for a few short
minutes, then hurtled through the air and alighted on the
palm-leaf thatch and stuck into the bark walls and dry
palisades.

There was no need for the sentries to awake their sleeping
comrades, for the glare of over two hundred fire balls,
burning all over the stockade, and setting fire to the dry
thatch and paHsades effectually aroused the sleepers, who
rushed out of the huts into the open yard of the fort in a
panic of consternation, which was changed to downright
shuddering horror and fright when they were assailed by
a second flight of fiery arrows. These seemed to fall straight
down from the sky, and many a man was hit and rushed
screaming about the enclosure with a fiery dart sticking
into his shoulders; for the wily old Semang chief had antici-
pated what would occur, and had ordered that the second
flight of arrows, to be fired after an interval of about five

327

minutes, should be shot up into the air, so that they fell
down straight into the stockade.

By this time the huts in the centre of the enclosure, as
well as the palisade fence, were beginning to burn in many-
places, and the garrison realised that, if they wished to
escape being scorched to death between the two fires, they
must get away, and that quickly. They therefore made a
rush for the gate nearest the river, and made for the prahus ;
but they were there exposed to a cross fire from the Semangs
who were stationed on the river bank, and who, whilst they
were invisible to the Malays, could plainly see their enemies
by reason of the fire light.

John Smith and Stia Raja shouted to their men to con-
centrate on the bank, and every minute more and more of
them came running up, until there were fifty or sixty in
each group. They then kept sending arrows into the mob
of fugitives, who were frantically scrambling into the prahus
and pushing off into midstream.

Very few of them escaped down the river to tell the
tale of another disaster to the Perak cause, and in less than
an hour the fort with its barracks and high palisade fence
had burnt out, and only a few smouldering brands remained
to show where it stood. The little Semang army gradually
gathered and bivouacked on the bank of the river, every
dark little soldier, as well as the white chief, stretching
himself on the bare ground to snatch two or three hours'
sleep before daylight.

It was a horrid sight that the morning sun disclosed, for
the ground was strewn with dead bodies. Those men who
had been only wounded had crawled down to the river for
water to allay the torturing thirst induced by the poisoned
arrows, and had died there; perhaps self-drowned to escape
the agony, for several were found with their faces buried

328

in the water at the edge of the stream, as if they had
dehberately kept their heads under water until they were
suffocated. There was no chance of burying them, so most
of them were cast into the river, but some were so badly
burnt that it seemed better to collect brands and other
timber from the stockade and make a pile on which to
throw them and so finish the burning. Nearly one hundred
bodies were counted, so not many could have escaped down
the river.

Many weapons were collected, and with these as trophies
they returned to the Prince's palace and heard that the
other stockade had not yet been taken.

But besides that, John Smith heard most distressing news
from Patani, brought over by the elephants which had just
arrived with a consignment of rice.

The Queen's letter told him that the ex-Prince had once
more run a-muck, and this time had succeeded in getting
himself killed, but not before he had done much slaughter.
One of the elephant-drivers who had witnessed the affray
told the tale.

He said that Si Andak had been staying with 'Che Long,
who was expecting her confinement; when, in the evening,
just as it was getting dusk, the ex-Prince started up suddenly,
and drawing his weapons, stabbed first his wife and then
Si Andak and an old lady who was staying in the house;
after which he rushed out into the town and commenced
to run through the main street, striking at everybody he
met, and kiUing five more people, besides wounding several
others, before he himself was overpowered and killed.

The queen urged John Smith to return as soon as pos-
sible, as she now wished him to go to Siam, because she
thought it better to get her Overlord on her side. She well
knew that she had no business in the Perak watershed, and

329

could not with any show of reason claim the territory for
which she was fighting, although it had been colonized by
her own people, who had gradually moved further and
further down the Perak River. But right or wrong, the
State was now committed to the war and was bound to
proceed. So far as could be ascertained, Perak was not
sending up any more nen and it only remained, therefore,
to turn out the garrison of the other fort, and after that
to arrange for the safe-guarding of the advanced frontier
thus won by force of arms.

The Patani war captain did not seem in any very parti-
cular hurry to take his fort by direct assault. He had sent
back for more ammunition, but this was refused him ; and
John Smith sent word that if he did not at once leave off
shooting, and attack the stockade in earnest, he would him-
self come to help.

This threat stirred up the valour of the brave captain,
and he led an attack personally, but it never reached the
walls of the stockade. Up to that time only five men had
been killed on the Patani side, and probably none in the
fort, but as they charged across the open and got within
point-blank range of the enemy's guns, many of the storming
party got bowled ove"; and the war captain seeing this,
ordered his men to retire. He was brave enough to face
death himself, but he could not bear to see his men killed.

This was the new that was brought back, with a message
from the great warrior to the effect that he intended waiting
until the Perak men had exhausted all their ammunition
before he dilivered another attack. This evidently meant a
prolonged siege ; so John Smith chose fifty of the Patani
men from the force at the Prince's place, and taking one
hundred Semangs with Stia Raja went to his assistance,
and pretending to place himself and his men under the

330

command of the Patani captain, he persuaded him to attack
once more. This second attack soon decided the fate of the
fort, which was rushed at once and the Perak men driven
out, when those who were not killed, and they were only
a small moiety, escaped down-stream in their prahus.

Having thus accomplished what he went down to Raman
to do, John Smith returned to Patani, were he was received
with great honour; and after an interval, he proceeded to
Siam as the special envoy of the Queen.

When he returned from that journey he found letters
awaiting him from James Neccy, who had got back to Johor.
James Neccy wrote that he was about to send a ship up
to Patani to fetch him and his belongings, as he wanted
him to join in the attack on Malacca which was soon to
start, and an honorable post in this expedition awaited
his friend and late supercargo.

Further journals of the English adventurer give a very
graphic and interesting description of this expedition, which
was not very successful, owing to the fact that at the last
moment the King of Johor did not fulfil his engagements.
The expedition started from Johor in 1606, and after making
an unsuccessful demonstration before the city of Malacca,
returned, and the ships then dispersed. John Smith's share
consisted of organising an attack from the land side. He
had a very interesting and adventurous time travelling up
the Moar River amongst the Menangkabau subjects of the
King of Johor, who were colonizing the country behind
Malacca and about Mount Ophir.

He lived for many years after in Malay countries, going
back to Europe and seeing his mother in England every
few years. He was in England at the time of her death,
but would not come forward until her funeral took place,
because he would not cause her the pain of acknowledging

331

him, which he knew would have greatly distressed her.
He was an English pioneer, although he sailed and fought
chiefly under the Dutch flag, his birth and parentage making
it difticult for him to assert himself under the sanction and
protection of his own country.

THE END.

ERRATA.

rag.

4 to

read:

two

■>•)

6 wich

11

which

•)")

7 hat

11

has

1-)

1 6 wen

ji

when

n

19 hat

11

had.

I-)

19 omit: crew

•)•>

23 trough

11

through

»

25 ast

•.1

as

«

28 omit: and turning

to the stakes

«

28 is

read:

if

11

30 poorridge

11

porridge

11

35 te

11

the

11

36 tho

11

to

11

36 so

11

to

11

37 wich

11

which

11

40 was

11

were

11

50 she lifted

11

she lifted her face

11

57 out

11

cut

11

69 trough

11

through

11

74 reloaden

11

reloaded

11

88 trough

n

through

11

88 they got nearer

11

they got no nearer

11

89 plucked up heart

11

plucked up heart to

11

90 right

11

thigh

11

92 wich

11

which

11

93 given march

11

given to march

334

'ag.

, 98 hat

reaiL

• had

T)

99 there

n

the

11

99 cunduct

11

conduct

11

100 thousand hundred

11

thousand

11

121 latter

11

later

11

128 lett

11

let

11

138 is

n

it

•)')

151 trew

11

threw

11

161 op

11

up

11

172 successfull

11

successful

11

178 easyly

11

easily

V

188 crescent

11

the Crescent

11

189 torn

11

tore

11

198 Afrika

11

Africa

11

200 0 man

11

a man

n

201 whome

11

whom

11

206 were

«

was

11

215 wither

«

whither

11

215 divolved

11

devolved

11

221 asleep

11

sleeps

11

234 id

11

it

11

235 had prepared then

11

had prepared

11

241 te stream

11

the river

«

244 rived

11

lived

11

244 schrill

11

shrill

11

244 out

")•)

shouted

11

245 moon

11

moon-lit

11

247 does

It

hinds

11

247 away far

11

far away

11

252 and were be supposed

11

and were supposed

■Ji

252 to chief

11

to the chief

ti

257 and hinting

«

hinting

11

258 Duch

ji

Dutch

11

259 it is

11

is it

51

259 realised

i>

he realised

11

260 opininion

•>•>

opinion

11

264 sences

11

senses

^1

264 therefore

11

therefor

335

Pag. 267 as the children 7-caii : the children

•)•)

269

hardeneded

")")

hardened

n

269

to each clan

•■)

each clan

•)■)

269

te

•)•>

the

n

273

haran

11

haram

T1

278

feer

n

fear

•)■)

279

wen

11

when

11

284

omit: so that

they could only move about by lifting both feet

■)■»

288

„ found

1-)

289

„ return

to

ll

295

ha'jis read:

hajis

•>•)

303

to present

tt

to the present

(S

293 4

VFo

0

BINDING SZCi. JtiL 2 2^1969

G Hale^ A

560 The adventures of John

H3 Smith in Malaya

cop. 2

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY